Alerus Financial NA Sells 1,393 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Alerus Financial NA trimmed its holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 5.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 22,689 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 1,393 shares during the quarter. Alerus Financial NA’s holdings in Oracle were worth $3,781,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 89.7% in the fourth quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 184 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. TFC Financial Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Oracle by 129.0% during the fourth quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 213 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at $47,000. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.35, for a total transaction of $389,448,893.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,331,027.20. This trade represents a 65.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Stock Down 1.3 %

ORCL stock opened at $145.88 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $164.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $170.11. Oracle Co. has a twelve month low of $112.78 and a twelve month high of $198.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $408.03 billion, a PE ratio of 35.67, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its 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). Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The firm had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.40 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.41 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a positive change from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.37%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.95%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on ORCL. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Oracle from $200.00 to $185.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Oracle from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Oracle from $205.00 to $175.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus 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.