Cornerstone Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Cornerstone Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 2.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 88,000 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 2,200 shares during the period. Cornerstone Advisors LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $14,664,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Oracle by 89.7% in the fourth quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 184 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. TFC Financial Management Inc. increased its holdings in Oracle by 129.0% during the 4th quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 213 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Finally, Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter worth $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Oracle news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.35, for a total transaction of $389,448,893.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at $207,331,027.20. The trade was a 65.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Oracle Price Performance

ORCL stock opened at $148.87 on Tuesday. Oracle Co. has a 12-month low of $111.18 and a 12-month high of $198.31. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $167.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $169.58. The company has a market cap of $416.38 billion, a PE ratio of 36.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. 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 (NYSE:ORCL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $14.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.40 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.41 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is an increase from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.34%. Oracle’s payout ratio is 39.12%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ORCL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Oracle from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $220.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut shares of Oracle to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted 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. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $182.73.

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.