Legal & General Group Plc Trims Stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Legal & General Group Plc cut its holdings in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 24.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,885,433 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 3,431,858 shares during the quarter. Oracle comprises approximately 0.5% of Legal & General Group Plc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Oracle were worth $1,813,949,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ORCL. Howard Capital Management Group LLC lifted its stake in Oracle by 12.4% during the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 8,019 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,366,000 after purchasing an additional 883 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Oracle by 5.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,416,362 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $411,748,000 after purchasing an additional 121,874 shares in the last quarter. United Bank boosted its stake in shares of Oracle by 4.8% in the third quarter. United Bank now owns 11,430 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,948,000 after purchasing an additional 519 shares during the period. Morse Asset Management Inc acquired a new position in shares of Oracle in the third quarter valued at approximately $2,590,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Oracle by 27.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 57,424 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $9,785,000 after buying an additional 12,302 shares in the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Oracle Stock Down 6.6 %

ORCL stock opened at $128.17 on Monday. Oracle Co. has a one year low of $112.78 and a one year high of $198.31. The company has a fifty day moving average of $160.05 and a 200-day moving average of $169.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $358.48 billion, a PE ratio of 31.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 EPS 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 analysts’ expectations of $14.40 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.41 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.56%. This is an increase from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Oracle news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.81, for a total value of $291,620.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 34,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,049,400.30. This trade represents a 5.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Safra Catz sold 345,174 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.56, for a total value of $64,050,487.44. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at $207,565,931.52. This trade represents a 23.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 2,448,328 shares of company stock valued at $453,791,001. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ORCL. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $205.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup cut their price target on Oracle from $194.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Oracle from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Oracle from $205.00 to $175.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $220.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a report on Thursday. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Oracle currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $178.65.

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.