Russell Investments Group Ltd. Cuts Stock Holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. trimmed its position in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 6.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,934,769 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 128,544 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.07% of Oracle worth $204,159,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Strategic Blueprint LLC grew its stake in Oracle by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 4,077 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $432,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the period. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Oracle by 62.9% in the 3rd quarter. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,569 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $484,000 after acquiring an additional 1,765 shares during the period. KRS Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Oracle by 50.3% in the 3rd quarter. KRS Capital Management LLC now owns 8,953 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $948,000 after acquiring an additional 2,996 shares during the period. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. grew its stake in Oracle by 92.9% in the 3rd quarter. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. now owns 623 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $66,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, Zullo Investment Group Inc. grew its stake in Oracle by 17.6% in the 3rd quarter. Zullo Investment Group Inc. now owns 2,157 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $229,000 after acquiring an additional 323 shares during the period. 42.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Oracle Trading Up 2.0 %

ORCL traded up $2.32 on Friday, hitting $117.21. The company had a trading volume of 8,355,111 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,810,524. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.34. The firm has a market cap of $322.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.93, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.01. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $119.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $113.11. Oracle Co. has a 1 year low of $93.29 and a 1 year high of $132.77.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $13.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.29 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 20.27% and a return on equity of 336.11%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.96 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 24th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.37%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.22%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 790,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.54, for a total transaction of $99,966,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at $141,546,631.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 42.80% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Oracle from $126.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Oracle from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. KeyCorp assumed coverage on shares of Oracle in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. They set an “overweight” rating and a $150.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, HSBC lifted their target price on shares of Oracle from $144.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $130.76.

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.