Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Sold by Sawgrass Asset Management LLC

Sawgrass Asset Management LLC cut its stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 124,626 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 4,153 shares during the quarter. Oracle comprises approximately 1.5% of Sawgrass Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $13,139,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its position in shares of Oracle by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 218,905 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $23,186,000 after purchasing an additional 7,272 shares during the period. BluePath Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Oracle in the third quarter valued at approximately $45,000. FORVIS Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Oracle by 14.0% in the third quarter. FORVIS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 29,541 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $3,129,000 after acquiring an additional 3,634 shares in the last quarter. Calamos Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Oracle by 32.2% during the third quarter. Calamos Wealth Management LLC now owns 104,956 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $11,117,000 after purchasing an additional 25,586 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Calamos Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Oracle by 11.6% in the 3rd quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC now owns 880,493 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $93,262,000 after purchasing an additional 91,465 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on ORCL. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Oracle from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. KeyCorp initiated coverage on shares of Oracle in a report on Thursday, March 21st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $150.00 target price for the company. HSBC upped their price objective on Oracle from $144.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Oracle from $126.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 12th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $130.76.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In related news, Director Michael J. Boskin sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.74, for a total value of $5,298,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 87,473 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,299,071.02. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Oracle news, Director Michael J. Boskin sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.74, for a total transaction of $5,298,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 87,473 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,299,071.02. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director George H. Conrades sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.00, for a total value of $2,320,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 17,836 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,068,976. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 880,000 shares of company stock worth $110,488,150 in the last three months. 42.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Oracle Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ORCL traded down $0.54 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $117.39. 4,635,195 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,200,177. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.34, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company has a 50 day moving average of $120.19 and a 200-day moving average of $113.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $322.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.03. Oracle Co. has a 12 month low of $96.10 and a 12 month high of $132.77.

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

Oracle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.36%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is presently 42.22%.

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.