Pinebridge Investments L.P. Trims Stock Position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Pinebridge Investments L.P. lessened its stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 17.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 391,332 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after selling 80,260 shares during the quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P.'s holdings in Oracle were worth $65,212,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ORCL. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Oracle by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 157,411,949 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $26,231,127,000 after acquiring an additional 2,296,069 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 38,002,902 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $6,332,803,000 after purchasing an additional 156,269 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Oracle by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,814,302 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $5,954,961,000 after purchasing an additional 619,619 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Oracle by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 20,202,421 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $3,366,531,000 after buying an additional 1,722,037 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Oracle by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 17,995,664 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $2,998,798,000 after buying an additional 97,635 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In other Oracle news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.77, for a total value of $648,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 58,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,538,339.30. This represents a 7.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of the company'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 transaction, the director now directly owns 34,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,049,400.30. This trade represents a 5.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 42.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on ORCL shares. StockNews.com lowered Oracle from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Oracle from $212.00 to $202.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Oracle from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Bank of America reduced their target price on Oracle from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on Oracle from $194.00 to $160.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $174.42.

Oracle Stock Performance

Shares of ORCL traded up $0.99 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $138.50. 5,471,756 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,369,508. Oracle Co. has a twelve month low of $113.65 and a twelve month high of $198.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The company has a market capitalization of $387.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.86, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.22. The business's 50-day moving average price is $146.54 and its 200 day moving average price is $165.02.

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

Oracle Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.44%. This is a positive change from Oracle's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle's payout ratio is presently 46.95%.

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.