Stevens Capital Management LP Sells 4,522 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Stevens Capital Management LP reduced its position in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 41.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,367 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after selling 4,522 shares during the period. Stevens Capital Management LP's holdings in Oracle were worth $1,061,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp increased its position in Oracle by 2.7% in 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 purchasing an additional 1,847,561 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted 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 acquiring an additional 885,041 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Oracle by 11.6% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 18,480,384 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $3,370,640,000 after acquiring an additional 1,917,416 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in Oracle by 0.4% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 14,608,951 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $2,489,345,000 after purchasing an additional 54,868 shares during the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In other Oracle news, CEO Safra Catz sold 345,174 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,565,931.52. This represents a 23.58 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Oracle Price Performance

NYSE ORCL traded down $0.96 on Tuesday, hitting $153.91. 3,614,864 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,811,018. Oracle Co. has a 52 week low of $112.78 and a 52 week high of $198.31. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $164.89 and a 200-day moving average of $170.36. 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 stock has a market cap of $430.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.63, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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). The company had revenue of $14.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.40 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The firm's revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.41 EPS. Analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is an increase from Oracle's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.30%. Oracle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on ORCL shares. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Oracle from $200.00 to $185.00 and set an "outperform" 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 for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Oracle from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Oracle from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $150.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Thirteen 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $179.20.

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.