Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Sold by ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. trimmed its holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 3.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 505,731 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after selling 17,413 shares during the quarter. Oracle accounts for about 3.5% of ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.'s holdings in Oracle were worth $84,275,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in ORCL. Activest Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of Oracle by 21.9% in the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 312 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Second Line Capital LLC lifted its stake in Oracle by 1.5% during the third quarter. Second Line Capital LLC now owns 3,816 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $650,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Cadence Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 0.8% in the third quarter. Cadence Bank now owns 7,605 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $1,296,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 0.4% during the third quarter. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC now owns 17,626 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $3,003,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the period. Finally, W Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 3.1% during the third quarter. W Advisors LLC now owns 2,158 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $368,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 42.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ORCL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on shares of Oracle from $201.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Guggenheim lifted their price target on Oracle from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Oracle from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and set a $205.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Oracle from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $182.73.

Oracle Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ORCL traded up $11.79 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $172.82. The company's stock had a trading volume of 29,478,549 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,327,390. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $174.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $161.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $483.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.25, a PEG ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 1.06. Oracle Co. has a fifty-two week low of $106.51 and a fifty-two week high of $198.31.

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

Oracle Announces Dividend

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

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.