Strategic Financial Services Inc. Lowers Stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Strategic Financial Services Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 5.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 28,537 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 1,657 shares during the period. Oracle accounts for about 0.3% of Strategic Financial Services Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Strategic Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $4,755,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Oracle by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,416,362 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $411,748,000 after acquiring an additional 121,874 shares during the period. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Oracle by 201.7% in the fourth quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,599 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $266,000 after buying an additional 1,069 shares during the last quarter. RMR Wealth Builders raised its holdings in Oracle by 383.4% in the fourth quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 7,155 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,192,000 after buying an additional 5,675 shares during the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Oracle by 24.8% in the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 164,593 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $27,428,000 after buying an additional 32,718 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Oracle in the fourth quarter worth about $1,800,000. 42.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Oracle news, CEO Safra Catz sold 345,174 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.56, for a total value of $64,050,487.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at $207,565,931.52. This represents a 23.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Stock Performance

ORCL opened at $152.40 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $426.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.26, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. Oracle Co. has a 1-year low of $112.78 and a 1-year high of $198.31. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $165.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $169.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $14.13 billion during 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%. The business’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 company earned $1.41 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $0.50 dividend. This is a positive change from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on ORCL shares. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Oracle from $194.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised shares of Oracle from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Oracle from $205.00 to $175.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. UBS Group reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Oracle in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Oracle from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Oracle currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.