Westpac Banking Corp Sells 10,893 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Westpac Banking Corp reduced its position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 27.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 28,463 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 10,893 shares during the quarter. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in Oracle were worth $4,743,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Howard Capital Management Group LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 883 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 121,874 shares during the last quarter. United Bank grew its holdings in shares of Oracle by 4.8% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC raised its position in Oracle by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 59,515 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $10,141,000 after purchasing an additional 971 shares during the period. Finally, IHT Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Oracle by 35.5% in the third quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 21,610 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $3,671,000 after purchasing an additional 5,663 shares during the last quarter. 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 2,101,154 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.35, for a total value of $389,448,893.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,331,027.20. The trade was a 65.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ORCL has been the topic of several analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their price objective on Oracle from $214.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $220.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Oracle from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Oracle from $194.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Oracle from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Oracle currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $178.65.

Oracle Stock Up 2.8 %

NYSE:ORCL opened at $145.96 on Thursday. Oracle Co. has a 1-year low of $112.78 and a 1-year high of $198.31. The company has a market capitalization of $408.24 billion, a PE ratio of 35.69, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $162.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $169.85. 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 announced 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 net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The business had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.40 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.41 EPS. Oracle’s revenue for the quarter 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 business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a boost from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.37%. Oracle’s payout ratio is presently 46.95%.

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.