Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. Lowers Stock Position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. cut its holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 50.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 300 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 300 shares during the quarter. Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $49,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Oracle by 89.7% during the 4th quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 184 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Oracle during the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. TFC Financial Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Oracle by 129.0% in the fourth quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 213 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Oracle in the 4th quarter worth about $47,000. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Oracle Price Performance

NYSE ORCL opened at $140.75 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $393.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.41, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. Oracle Co. has a 12 month low of $112.78 and a 12 month high of $198.31. The company’s 50 day moving average is $163.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $170.12. 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 issued its earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.02). Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The firm had revenue of $14.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.40 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.41 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.42%. This is a boost from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle’s payout ratio is presently 46.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Oracle news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $207,331,027.20. This trade represents a 65.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 42.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on ORCL shares. UBS Group restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Oracle from $200.00 to $185.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $220.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their price target on Oracle from $214.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $179.20.

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.