Prudential Financial Inc. Trims Holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Prudential Financial Inc. decreased its holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 2.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,345,230 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after selling 38,168 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc.'s holdings in Oracle were worth $224,169,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 2,296,069 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Oracle by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 70,441,556 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $12,003,241,000 after buying an additional 1,847,561 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Oracle by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,194,683 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $5,977,015,000 after buying an additional 885,041 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Oracle by 11.6% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 18,480,384 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $3,370,640,000 after buying an additional 1,917,416 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Oracle by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 17,995,664 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $2,998,798,000 after acquiring an additional 97,635 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company's stock.

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Oracle Trading Down 0.8 %

ORCL traded down $1.28 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $153.59. 8,509,869 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,509,694. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $164.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $170.36. Oracle Co. has a 1 year low of $112.78 and a 1 year high of $198.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. The firm has a market cap of $429.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 analysts' expectations of $14.40 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.41 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect 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. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This is a positive change from Oracle's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.30%. Oracle's payout ratio is 46.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Oracle news, CEO Safra Catz sold 345,174 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.56, for a total value of $64,050,487.44. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at $207,565,931.52. The trade was a 23.58 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 42.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on ORCL shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price target on shares of Oracle from $214.00 to $175.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $220.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. KeyCorp reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Oracle from $210.00 to $190.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded Oracle from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Oracle currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $179.20.

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.