Gateway Investment Advisers LLC Sells 23,766 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC decreased its holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 5.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 394,753 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 23,766 shares during the period. Oracle comprises approximately 0.7% of Gateway Investment Advisers LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $65,782,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Winch Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 89.7% during the 4th quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 184 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the period. Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Oracle in the 3rd quarter worth about $44,000. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in Oracle in the 2nd quarter valued at about $40,000. Avondale Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Oracle during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $51,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial bought a new position in shares of Oracle during the third quarter worth approximately $51,000. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on ORCL shares. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Oracle from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Oracle from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $205.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $165.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Oracle presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.48.

Oracle Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of ORCL traded up $0.55 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $158.86. 713,724 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,430,102. The firm has a market capitalization of $444.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. Oracle Co. has a fifty-two week low of $105.68 and a fifty-two week high of $198.31. The business has a 50-day moving average of $176.99 and a 200-day moving average of $161.24.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.48 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $14.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.12 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The business’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.34 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5.01 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Oracle’s payout ratio is 39.12%.

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.