Wright Investors Service Inc. Reduces Position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Wright Investors Service Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 4.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 43,768 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 2,172 shares during the quarter. Oracle makes up approximately 1.3% of Wright Investors Service Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Wright Investors Service Inc.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $4,614,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Oracle by 5.7% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 147,273,413 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $15,599,200,000 after purchasing an additional 7,883,515 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Oracle by 2.6% during the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 62,586,810 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $5,815,566,000 after buying an additional 1,570,528 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley increased its position in shares of Oracle by 9.6% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 20,502,544 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,675,878,000 after buying an additional 1,794,080 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Oracle by 3.5% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 18,718,180 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,982,630,000 after buying an additional 635,994 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,409,896,000. 42.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In other news, CEO Safra Catz sold 790,000 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.54, for a total value of $99,966,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $141,546,631.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 42.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Oracle Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE:ORCL traded down $0.48 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $118.19. The company had a trading volume of 1,650,747 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,530,927. Oracle Co. has a 52 week low of $93.29 and a 52 week high of $132.77. The company has a market capitalization of $324.85 billion, a PE ratio of 31.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.34, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $119.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $112.78.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its earnings results on Monday, March 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.04. Oracle had a net margin of 20.27% and a return on equity of 336.11%. The firm had revenue of $13.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.29 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.96 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is presently 42.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Oracle in a research report on Friday, December 22nd. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on Oracle in a research report on Thursday. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Oracle from $125.00 to $122.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. StockNews.com cut shares of Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Oracle from $126.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 12th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $130.76.

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.