Chesley Taft & Associates LLC Reduces Stock Position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Chesley Taft & Associates LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 171,007 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after selling 3,742 shares during the period. Oracle makes up about 1.3% of Chesley Taft & Associates LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC's holdings in Oracle were worth $28,497,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC lifted its stake in Oracle by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 47,312 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $7,884,000 after buying an additional 532 shares during the period. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Oracle by 10.5% in the fourth quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC now owns 30,264 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $5,043,000 after acquiring an additional 2,882 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Trust Co raised its position in shares of Oracle by 28.4% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Trust Co now owns 10,247 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $1,708,000 after purchasing an additional 2,264 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 240,777 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $40,123,000 after purchasing an additional 2,828 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Reliant Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Oracle by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Reliant Investment Management LLC now owns 36,016 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $6,002,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the period. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on ORCL. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. BNP Paribas raised Oracle to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on shares of Oracle from $201.00 to $202.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Oracle from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their price target on Oracle from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Oracle has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $182.73.

Oracle Price Performance

Oracle stock traded up $11.46 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $172.49. 19,866,320 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,456,510. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $174.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $161.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. The company has a market cap of $482.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.14, a PEG ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 1.06. Oracle Co. has a 12-month low of $106.51 and a 12-month high of $198.31.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.48 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $14.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.12 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The company's revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.34 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.93%. Oracle's payout ratio is presently 39.12%.

Oracle 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.