Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Stock Position Decreased by Chesley Taft & Associates LLC

Chesley Taft & Associates LLC lowered its holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 171,007 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 3,742 shares during the period. Oracle comprises about 1.3% of Chesley Taft & Associates LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $28,497,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ORCL. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Oracle by 36.0% during the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 147,705 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $20,856,000 after purchasing an additional 39,107 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 6.9% during the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 95,803 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $13,527,000 after buying an additional 6,215 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Oracle by 3.1% during the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 355,652 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $50,218,000 after buying an additional 10,650 shares during the period. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. increased its position in Oracle by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 41,745 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $5,894,000 after acquiring an additional 1,377 shares during the period. Finally, Fairscale Capital LLC bought a new stake in Oracle during the 2nd quarter valued at $103,000. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Oracle Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE ORCL opened at $161.05 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $174.87 and a 200-day moving average of $161.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $450.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.38, a PEG ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 1.06. Oracle Co. has a 12 month low of $106.51 and a 12 month high of $198.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 EPS 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 company had revenue of $14.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.34 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. Oracle’s payout ratio is 39.12%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Oracle to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Oracle from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. KeyCorp raised their target price on Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Oracle from $157.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $182.73.

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.