Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Sold by AGF Management Ltd.

AGF Management Ltd. trimmed its holdings in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 2.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 233,701 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 5,860 shares during the quarter. AGF Management Ltd.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $38,944,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Oracle by 89.7% during the fourth quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 184 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Oracle during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. TFC Financial Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Oracle by 129.0% during the 4th quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 213 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Finally, Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at $47,000. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ORCL. Citigroup restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Oracle from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. StockNews.com lowered Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Bank of America cut their price objective on Oracle from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $220.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Oracle currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $178.92.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Oracle news, CEO Safra Catz sold 345,174 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.56, for a total transaction of $64,050,487.44. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $207,565,931.52. The trade was a 23.58 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ORCL opened at $144.29 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $166.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $169.62. Oracle Co. has a 1-year low of $112.78 and a 1-year high of $198.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $403.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.28, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The company had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.40 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.41 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This is a boost from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is 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.