Cannell & Spears LLC Sells 64,824 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Cannell & Spears LLC lowered its position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 12.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 438,629 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 64,824 shares during the quarter. Oracle accounts for about 1.5% of Cannell & Spears LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 13th largest position. Cannell & Spears LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $73,093,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Oracle by 89.7% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. TFC Financial Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 129.0% in the 4th quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 213 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Stock Down 3.5 %

NYSE:ORCL opened at $140.75 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $163.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $170.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $393.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.41, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. Oracle Co. has a 12-month low of $112.78 and a 12-month high of $198.31.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.40 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. Oracle’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.41 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This is an increase from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ORCL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded Oracle from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Oracle from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price target on shares of Oracle from $214.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Oracle from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $179.20.

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.