Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) is Long Road Investment Counsel LLC’s 4th Largest Position

Long Road Investment Counsel LLC cut its stake in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 69,978 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 1,912 shares during the quarter. Oracle makes up approximately 4.8% of Long Road Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Long Road Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $11,661,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ORCL. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Oracle by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 70,441,556 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $12,003,241,000 after purchasing an additional 1,847,561 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Oracle by 2.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,194,683 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $5,977,015,000 after purchasing an additional 885,041 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Oracle by 11.6% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 18,480,384 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $3,370,640,000 after purchasing an additional 1,917,416 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Oracle by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 17,995,664 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $2,998,798,000 after buying an additional 97,635 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in Oracle by 0.4% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 14,608,951 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $2,489,345,000 after buying an additional 54,868 shares during the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In other Oracle news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was 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 owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,331,027.20. The trade was a 65.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Oracle Stock Performance

NYSE ORCL opened at $154.01 on Tuesday. Oracle Co. has a 1-year low of $112.78 and a 1-year high of $198.31. The company has a market cap of $430.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.66, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $165.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $169.95.

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). The company had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.40 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.41 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.30%. This is an increase from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is 46.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their target price on Oracle from $214.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Barclays cut their target price on Oracle from $212.00 to $202.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $220.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Oracle from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Oracle currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.71.

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.