Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) CEO Safra Catz Sells 790,000 Shares

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) CEO Safra Catz sold 790,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.54, for a total transaction of $99,966,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Oracle Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ORCL opened at $125.28 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $116.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $111.37. The stock has a market cap of $344.33 billion, a PE ratio of 33.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.34, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. Oracle Co. has a one year low of $89.48 and a one year high of $132.77.

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. The firm had revenue of $13.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.29 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 336.11% and a net margin of 20.27%. Oracle’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.96 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 24th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.28%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.22%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oracle

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI boosted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI now owns 5,986 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $631,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Quantum Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle during the third quarter worth $229,000. Cooper Financial Group boosted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 43.4% during the fourth quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 5,038 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $531,000 after purchasing an additional 1,525 shares during the last quarter. Greenfield Savings Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 7.8% during the third quarter. Greenfield Savings Bank now owns 9,034 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $957,000 after purchasing an additional 656 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter worth $85,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Oracle in a research report on Friday, December 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Oracle from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. StockNews.com cut shares of Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Oracle from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Oracle from $135.00 to $130.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 12th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $130.76.

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.