Simmons Bank Trims Stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Simmons Bank trimmed its position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 3.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 51,587 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 2,044 shares during the quarter. Simmons Bank’s holdings in Oracle were worth $5,439,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Oracle by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 147,273,413 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $15,599,200,000 after purchasing an additional 7,883,515 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Oracle by 3.5% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 18,718,180 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,982,630,000 after purchasing an additional 635,994 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,909,069 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,223,775,000 after purchasing an additional 204,546 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Oracle by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,471,884 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $897,342,000 after buying an additional 89,876 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Oracle by 9,299.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,170,999 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $865,472,000 after acquiring an additional 8,084,067 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Trading Down 0.4 %

ORCL stock traded down $0.47 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $117.46. 2,250,007 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,176,787. The stock has a market capitalization of $322.84 billion, a PE ratio of 30.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.03. Oracle Co. has a 1-year low of $96.10 and a 1-year high of $132.77. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $120.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $113.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.34.

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

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.36%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 9th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Oppenheimer began coverage on Oracle in a report on Thursday, April 18th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. HSBC raised their price objective on shares of Oracle from $144.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Argus raised shares of Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Oracle from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $130.76.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 790,000 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $141,546,631.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Oracle news, Director George H. Conrades sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.00, for a total transaction of $2,320,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 17,836 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,068,976. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Safra Catz sold 790,000 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $141,546,631.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 835,000 shares of company stock valued at $105,189,850. Corporate insiders own 42.80% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Company 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.