Russell Investments Group Ltd. Sells 46,107 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. cut its stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,842,316 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after selling 46,107 shares during the period. Oracle makes up approximately 0.4% of Russell Investments Group Ltd.'s holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.07% of Oracle worth $307,061,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ORCL. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Oracle by 89.7% in the 4th quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 184 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the period. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, TFC Financial Management Inc. increased its stake in Oracle by 129.0% in the fourth quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 213 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In other news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.35, for a total transaction of $389,448,893.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares of the company's stock, valued at $207,331,027.20. This trade represents a 65.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.81, for a total transaction of $291,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 34,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,049,400.30. This represents a 5.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 2,448,328 shares of company stock valued at $453,791,001. 42.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

ORCL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Stephens initiated coverage on Oracle in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $167.00 price objective on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their price target on Oracle from $214.00 to $175.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. UBS Group restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Oracle from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $205.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $178.65.

Oracle Trading Down 2.2 %

Oracle stock traded down $2.84 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $124.32. 10,080,918 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,156,055. The stock has a market capitalization of $347.73 billion, a PE ratio of 30.40, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $159.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $169.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. Oracle Co. has a 52 week low of $112.78 and a 52 week high of $198.31.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.02). Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The business had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.40 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.41 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This is a boost from Oracle's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle's dividend payout ratio is 46.95%.

About Oracle

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.