Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Reduces Stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lowered its position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 91.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 20,035 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after selling 226,356 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.'s holdings in Oracle were worth $3,414,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in Oracle by 2.3% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 13,242,340 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $1,869,816,000 after acquiring an additional 296,866 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 6.2% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,318,962 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $1,033,430,000 after purchasing an additional 424,500 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in Oracle by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,182,917 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $1,015,862,000 after buying an additional 66,444 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its position in Oracle by 32.3% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 6,037,100 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $756,100,000 after buying an additional 1,473,734 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank raised its position in Oracle by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 4,913,300 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $837,226,000 after buying an additional 30,700 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total value of $1,042,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 42,889 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,076,685. This represents a 12.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ORCL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Oracle from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Oracle from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Oracle from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Oracle from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price target on Oracle from $105.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $169.52.

Oracle Price Performance

Oracle stock opened at $192.29 on Monday. Oracle Co. has a 52 week low of $99.26 and a 52 week high of $196.04. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $175.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $149.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68. The stock has a market cap of $532.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.56, a PEG ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 1.02.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, September 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.06. Oracle had a return on equity of 171.38% and a net margin of 20.40%. The firm had revenue of $13.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $13.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.95 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. Oracle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.24%.

Oracle Company Profile

Oracle Corporation offers products and services that address enterprise information technology environments worldwide. Its Oracle cloud software as a service offering include various cloud software applications, including Oracle Fusion cloud enterprise resource planning (ERP), Oracle Fusion cloud enterprise performance management, Oracle Fusion cloud supply chain and manufacturing management, Oracle Fusion cloud human capital management, Oracle Cerner healthcare, Oracle Advertising, and NetSuite applications suite, as well as Oracle Fusion Sales, Service, and Marketing.