Saratoga Research & Investment Management Sells 131,995 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Saratoga Research & Investment Management lowered its position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 16.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 668,184 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 131,995 shares during the quarter. Oracle accounts for 5.6% of Saratoga Research & Investment Management’s holdings, making the stock its 7th largest position. Saratoga Research & Investment Management’s holdings in Oracle were worth $111,346,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Oracle during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,216,314,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at $930,095,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Oracle by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 157,411,949 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $26,231,127,000 after buying an additional 2,296,069 shares during the period. Polen Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Oracle by 22.3% during the fourth quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC now owns 10,723,731 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,787,003,000 after buying an additional 1,955,764 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 1,917,416 shares during the period. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Oracle Stock Down 3.5 %

Oracle stock opened at $140.75 on Monday. Oracle Co. has a fifty-two week low of $112.78 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 firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $163.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $170.31. The stock has a market cap of $393.67 billion, a PE ratio of 34.41, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $14.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.40 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The business’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.41 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.42%. This is a boost from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Oracle’s payout ratio is presently 46.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ORCL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays lowered their price objective on Oracle from $212.00 to $202.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. UBS Group reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Oracle to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $150.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Oracle has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $179.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Oracle 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 value of $389,448,893.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,331,027.20. The trade was a 65.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 42.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.