Phoenix Financial Ltd. Sells 20,431 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Phoenix Financial Ltd. reduced its stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 3.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 583,573 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 20,431 shares during the period. Oracle accounts for 1.3% of Phoenix Financial Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Phoenix Financial Ltd.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $97,248,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Howard Capital Management Group LLC lifted 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 buying an additional 883 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Oracle by 5.3% in 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 period. Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 3rd quarter worth about $2,590,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Oracle by 27.3% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 57,424 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $9,785,000 after acquiring an additional 12,302 shares during the period. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Oracle in the third quarter valued at approximately $215,000. Institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In other Oracle 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $207,331,027.20. The trade was a 65.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.81, for a total transaction of $291,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 34,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,049,400.30. This trade represents a 5.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 2,448,328 shares of company stock valued at $453,791,001 in the last three months. Company insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Oracle from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Oracle from $220.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 31st. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded shares of Oracle from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada set a $145.00 target price on Oracle and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Oracle presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $178.65.

Oracle Trading Up 12.4 %

Shares of Oracle stock opened at $139.91 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $391.32 billion, a PE ratio of 34.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $156.67 and its 200 day moving average is $168.09. Oracle Co. has a 1 year low of $112.78 and a 1 year high of $198.31.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $14.13 billion for 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.41 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This is a boost from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.43%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.