Kanawha Capital Management LLC Sells 1,077 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Kanawha Capital Management LLC cut its position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 201,179 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 1,077 shares during the period. Oracle accounts for about 2.6% of Kanawha Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Kanawha Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $33,524,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Oracle by 129.0% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Oracle during the third quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter worth approximately $47,000. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ORCL has been the topic of several analyst reports. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of Oracle from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Oracle from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Mizuho increased 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, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Oracle from $157.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. One 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Oracle presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $182.73.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Oracle Price Performance

ORCL stock opened at $174.08 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $169.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $165.29. The stock has a market cap of $486.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.56, a P/E/G ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.05. Oracle Co. has a 1 year low of $106.51 and a 1 year high of $198.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released 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). Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The company had revenue of $14.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.34 earnings per share. Oracle’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. Oracle’s payout ratio is 39.12%.

Oracle 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.