Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Sold by First American Trust FSB

First American Trust FSB trimmed its position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 15.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 98,205 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 18,129 shares during the quarter. Oracle accounts for approximately 1.6% of First American Trust FSB’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. First American Trust FSB’s holdings in Oracle were worth $16,365,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter worth about $930,095,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Oracle by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 157,411,949 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $26,231,127,000 after acquiring an additional 2,296,069 shares in the last quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Oracle by 22.3% in the 4th quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC now owns 10,723,731 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,787,003,000 after acquiring an additional 1,955,764 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 1,917,416 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Oracle by 2.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 70,441,556 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $12,003,241,000 after purchasing an additional 1,847,561 shares during the period. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at $207,331,027.20. The trade was a 65.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Oracle from $200.00 to $185.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Oracle from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Oracle from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $220.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.20.

Oracle Trading Up 1.8 %

NYSE:ORCL opened at $154.98 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $433.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.89, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $164.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $170.36. 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 Co. has a 12-month low of $112.78 and a 12-month high of $198.31.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.02). Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The firm 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 posted $1.41 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict 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. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.29%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This is a boost from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle’s payout ratio is 46.95%.

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.