Yacktman Asset Management LP Sells 474,303 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Yacktman Asset Management LP cut its holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 73.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 172,652 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 474,303 shares during the quarter. Yacktman Asset Management LP’s holdings in Oracle were worth $28,771,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Activest Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Oracle by 21.9% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Second Line Capital LLC lifted its position 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 purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Cadence Bank grew its stake in shares of Oracle by 0.8% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Requisite Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Oracle by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Requisite Capital Management LLC now owns 2,240 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $373,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Finally, McLean Asset Management Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 5,447 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $908,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In other Oracle news, CEO Safra Catz sold 345,174 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $207,565,931.52. This trade represents a 23.58 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 42.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Oracle Stock Performance

Shares of ORCL opened at $178.97 on Tuesday. Oracle Co. has a one year low of $106.51 and a one year high of $198.31. The stock has a market cap of $500.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.76, a P/E/G ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.05. 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 has a 50-day moving average of $170.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $164.68.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its earnings results on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.48 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $14.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.12 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.34 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Oracle’s payout ratio is currently 39.12%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. BNP Paribas raised Oracle to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Oracle from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on shares of Oracle in a research report on Friday, January 17th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $214.00 price objective on the stock. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Oracle presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $182.73.

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.