Hickory Asset Management Inc. Sells 815 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Hickory Asset Management Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 25.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,402 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 815 shares during the period. Hickory Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $336,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,216,314,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter worth about $930,095,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Oracle by 15,012.3% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,755,096 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $664,810,000 after purchasing an additional 4,723,631 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in shares of Oracle by 20.5% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 13,825,360 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $2,303,858,000 after purchasing an additional 2,350,448 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Oracle by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 157,411,949 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $26,231,127,000 after purchasing an additional 2,296,069 shares during the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ORCL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Oracle from $135.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Barclays raised their price objective on Oracle from $202.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Bank of America raised their price objective on Oracle from $156.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Oracle from $180.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded Oracle from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Oracle currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $194.32.

Oracle Stock Up 7.8%

Shares of ORCL opened at $215.54 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. Oracle Co. has a 12 month low of $118.86 and a 12 month high of $216.60. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $152.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $160.62. The firm has a market cap of $602.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.70, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.32.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.64 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $15.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.58 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The business’s revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.63 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.08%.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In other Oracle news, Vice Chairman Jeffrey Henley sold 400,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.42, for a total transaction of $76,168,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 1,097,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $209,000,421.92. The trade was a 26.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.81, for a total value of $291,620.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 34,630 shares in the company, valued at $5,049,400.30. This trade represents a 5.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 427,366 shares of company stock valued at $80,183,723 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 42.20% 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.