Kentucky Retirement Systems Cuts Stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Kentucky Retirement Systems lowered its stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 109,840 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 1,513 shares during the quarter. Oracle accounts for 0.5% of Kentucky Retirement Systems’ portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Oracle were worth $18,304,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wealth Group Ltd. bought a new stake in Oracle during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $222,000. Howard Capital Management Group LLC raised its position in Oracle by 12.4% during the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 8,019 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,366,000 after purchasing an additional 883 shares during the period. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 43.5% in the third quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. now owns 2,582 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $440,000 after buying an additional 783 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 1.1% in the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 117,127 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $19,958,000 after buying an additional 1,330 shares during the period. Finally, Wallington Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Oracle in the third quarter worth approximately $222,000. Institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at $207,331,027.20. This trade represents a 65.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on ORCL. Citigroup increased their price objective on Oracle from $157.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Oracle from $173.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Oracle from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Monness Crespi & Hardt cut Oracle from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $130.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Oracle from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $182.73.

Oracle Price Performance

NYSE:ORCL opened at $176.01 on Friday. Oracle Co. has a one year low of $106.51 and a one year high of $198.31. The company has a market cap of $492.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.04, a P/E/G ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 1.05. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $169.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $166.74. 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 (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 firm had revenue of $14.06 billion for 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.34 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.12%.

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.