Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Stock Holdings Lessened by Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc.

Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. cut its stake in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 140,033 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 2,643 shares during the quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $23,335,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ORCL. Ascent Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at $223,000. Avalon Trust Co lifted its stake in Oracle by 9.7% during the fourth quarter. Avalon Trust Co now owns 6,732 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,122,000 after buying an additional 596 shares in the last quarter. Tidemark LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 47.1% in the fourth quarter. Tidemark LLC now owns 406 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $68,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the period. one8zero8 LLC purchased a new position in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,837,000. Finally, Choate Investment Advisors raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. Choate Investment Advisors now owns 38,282 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $6,379,000 after acquiring an additional 2,833 shares during the period. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Oracle Price Performance

Shares of Oracle stock opened at $149.36 on Friday. Oracle Co. has a 1-year low of $112.78 and a 1-year high of $198.31. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $165.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $169.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $417.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.52, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.02). The firm 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 firm’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.41 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This is a positive change from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.34%. Oracle’s payout ratio is 46.95%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,331,027.20. This represents a 65.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 42.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on ORCL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Oracle from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Bank of America lowered their price target on Oracle from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price objective on Oracle from $214.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Oracle from $194.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt raised shares of Oracle from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. 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, Oracle has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $179.71.

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.