Shelton Capital Management Sells 7,349 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Shelton Capital Management trimmed its holdings in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 4.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 145,704 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 7,349 shares during the quarter. Oracle accounts for approximately 0.6% of Shelton Capital Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Shelton Capital Management’s holdings in Oracle were worth $24,280,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Oracle by 89.7% during the 4th quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 184 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Oracle during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, TFC Financial Management Inc. lifted its position in Oracle by 129.0% during the 4th quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 213 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Oracle Trading Down 1.0 %

NYSE ORCL opened at $127.03 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. The company has a market cap of $355.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.22. Oracle Co. has a twelve month low of $112.78 and a twelve month high of $198.31. The business’s fifty day moving average is $159.43 and its 200 day moving average is $169.09.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.02). Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The firm had revenue of $14.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.40 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.41 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This is a positive change from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle’s payout ratio is 46.95%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on ORCL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Oracle from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. UBS Group reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Citigroup reduced their price target on Oracle from $194.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Oracle from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Oracle currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $178.65.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.81, for a total value of $291,620.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 34,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,049,400.30. The trade was a 5.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Safra Catz sold 345,174 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.56, for a total transaction of $64,050,487.44. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $207,565,931.52. This represents a 23.58 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 2,448,328 shares of company stock valued at $453,791,001 over the last 90 days. 42.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.