Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Position Lessened by Carret Asset Management LLC

Carret Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 0.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 108,195 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 750 shares during the period. Oracle accounts for 1.6% of Carret Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Carret Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $13,590,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Oracle by 5.7% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 147,273,413 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $15,599,200,000 after acquiring an additional 7,883,515 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in Oracle by 22.1% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 18,384,162 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,938,242,000 after acquiring an additional 3,323,334 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Oracle by 17.7% in the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 14,599,902 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,539,268,000 after acquiring an additional 2,191,342 shares during the period. Putnam Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Oracle by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 12,339,385 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,300,941,000 after buying an additional 697,961 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Oracle by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,909,069 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,223,775,000 after buying an additional 204,546 shares during the period. 42.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In other Oracle news, Director George H. Conrades sold 25,000 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.13, for a total transaction of $2,903,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 17,836 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,071,294.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Edward Screven sold 235,918 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.30, for a total value of $34,042,967.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,626,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $379,042,045.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director George H. Conrades sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.13, for a total value of $2,903,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,836 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,071,294.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 385,639 shares of company stock valued at $53,002,729 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 42.80% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of ORCL stock traded up $0.85 on Wednesday, reaching $144.13. 2,306,128 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,633,039. Oracle Co. has a 52 week low of $99.26 and a 52 week high of $145.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $397.20 billion, a PE ratio of 38.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.02. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $126.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $118.77.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $14.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.57 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 19.76% and a return on equity of 223.01%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.35 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5.01 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 11th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 11th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.13%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on Oracle in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $125.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Oracle from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on Oracle from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Oracle has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $145.83.

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.