Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Sold by Saratoga Research & Investment Management

Saratoga Research & Investment Management lessened its stake in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 16.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 668,184 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after selling 131,995 shares during the quarter. Oracle comprises about 5.6% of Saratoga Research & Investment Management's investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Saratoga Research & Investment Management's holdings in Oracle were worth $111,346,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ORCL. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Oracle by 5.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,416,362 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $411,748,000 after purchasing an additional 121,874 shares during the last quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Oracle by 201.7% during the 4th quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,599 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $266,000 after acquiring an additional 1,069 shares during the last quarter. RMR Wealth Builders boosted its stake in shares of Oracle by 383.4% during the 4th quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 7,155 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $1,192,000 after acquiring an additional 5,675 shares in the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Oracle by 24.8% in the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 164,593 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $27,428,000 after acquiring an additional 32,718 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter worth $1,800,000. Institutional investors own 42.44% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on ORCL. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Oracle from $205.00 to $175.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Oracle from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Oracle from $210.00 to $190.00 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 report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Oracle from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $178.65.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,331,027.20. The trade was a 65.26 % 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 owned by company insiders.

Oracle Stock Performance

Shares of Oracle stock traded up $2.24 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $142.05. The company's stock had a trading volume of 9,511,593 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,991,553. The business's fifty day moving average price is $163.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $170.16. Oracle Co. has a one year low of $112.78 and a one year high of $198.31. The firm has a market cap of $397.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.40 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.41 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.41%. 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 (DPR) is presently 46.95%.

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.