Woodward Diversified Capital LLC Lowers Position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Woodward Diversified Capital LLC decreased its position in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 42.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,120 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 1,557 shares during the period. Woodward Diversified Capital LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $353,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Oracle in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Oracle by 89.7% in the 4th quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 184 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Oracle during the 3rd quarter valued at about $44,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Oracle during the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. Finally, Avondale Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Oracle in the third quarter worth about $51,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Stock Performance

ORCL opened at $174.53 on Friday. Oracle Co. has a 12-month low of $106.51 and a 12-month high of $198.31. The company has a market cap of $488.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.67, a PEG ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.05. 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 company’s 50 day moving average is $170.63 and its 200 day moving average is $164.11.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (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 the consensus estimate of $14.12 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The company’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.34 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS 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 paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on ORCL shares. Guggenheim lifted their target price on shares of Oracle from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $165.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt downgraded shares of Oracle from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $130.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Friday, December 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $182.73.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.35, for a total value of $389,448,893.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,331,027.20. This represents a 65.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

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.