Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Sold by Louisbourg Investments Inc.

Louisbourg Investments Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,839 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 250 shares during the quarter. Louisbourg Investments Inc.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $3,042,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ORCL. Wealth Group Ltd. purchased a new stake in Oracle during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $222,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its position in shares of Oracle by 157.0% during the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 4,587 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $782,000 after acquiring an additional 2,802 shares during the period. Wesbanco Bank Inc. raised its stake in shares of Oracle by 7.5% in the third quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 126,123 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $21,491,000 after acquiring an additional 8,790 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning raised its stake in shares of Oracle by 4.1% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 774,912 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $132,045,000 after acquiring an additional 30,341 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GenWealth Group Inc. purchased a new position in Oracle in the third quarter valued at $202,000. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Oracle Price Performance

NYSE ORCL opened at $177.18 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $495.57 billion, a PE ratio of 43.32, a P/E/G ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.05. 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 12 month low of $106.51 and a 12 month high of $198.31. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $170.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $165.24.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by ($0.01). Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The business had revenue of $14.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.12 billion. Oracle’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.34 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 23rd were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.90%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.12%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,331,027.20. This represents a 65.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ORCL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Oracle from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Oracle from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Oracle from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $205.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on Oracle in a report on Friday, January 17th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $214.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $182.73.

About Oracle

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.