ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd Sells 20,000 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd cut its position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 26.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 55,891 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 20,000 shares during the quarter. Oracle comprises about 1.0% of ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 24th largest position. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd’s holdings in Oracle were worth $9,314,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. TFC Financial Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Oracle by 129.0% during the 4th quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 213 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 3rd quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter valued at $47,000. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was 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 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on ORCL shares. BNP Paribas upgraded Oracle to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. UBS Group upped their target price on Oracle from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Oracle from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $182.73.

Oracle Trading Up 3.2 %

NYSE ORCL opened at $179.78 on Wednesday. Oracle Co. has a fifty-two week low of $106.51 and a fifty-two week high of $198.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $169.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $166.57. The stock has a market cap of $502.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 1.05.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.48 by ($0.01). Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The business had revenue of $14.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.34 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.12%.

About Oracle

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.