Stifel Financial Corp Reduces Stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Stifel Financial Corp lessened its holdings in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 10.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,769,566 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 198,043 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp’s holdings in Oracle were worth $294,883,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Requisite Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Oracle by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Requisite Capital Management LLC now owns 2,240 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $373,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. now owns 1,423 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $237,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. McLean Asset Management Corp lifted its position in Oracle by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 5,447 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $908,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Warther Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Oracle by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Warther Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,621 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $603,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. Finally, Howard Bailey Securities LLC grew its position in Oracle by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Howard Bailey Securities LLC now owns 2,274 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $379,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of Oracle stock opened at $128.56 on Monday. Oracle Co. has a twelve month low of $112.78 and a twelve month high of $198.31. 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 business’s 50 day simple moving average is $150.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $166.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $359.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.43, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.22.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 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 quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.41 EPS. Oracle’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid 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 1.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.35, for a total value of $389,448,893.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at $207,331,027.20. The trade was a 65.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.77, for a total value of $648,850.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 58,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,538,339.30. The trade was a 7.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 2,453,328 shares of company stock valued at $454,439,851. 42.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ORCL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Oracle from $200.00 to $185.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Citigroup dropped their target price on Oracle from $194.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Oracle from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $176.73.

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.