Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. Reduces Position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. reduced its position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 50.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 300 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 300 shares during the period. Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $49,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ORCL. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Oracle in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Oracle by 89.7% in 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. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Oracle in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. TFC Financial Management Inc. lifted 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 valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at about $47,000. Institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Trading Down 3.5 %

NYSE:ORCL opened at $140.75 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. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $163.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $170.12. Oracle Co. has a 12 month low of $112.78 and a 12 month high of $198.31. The company has a market capitalization of $393.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.41, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.02). Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The firm had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.40 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.41 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This is a positive change from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.42%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ORCL. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Oracle from $210.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. BNP Paribas raised Oracle to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised Oracle from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Oracle from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $150.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $179.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In other Oracle news, CEO Safra Catz sold 345,174 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.56, for a total transaction of $64,050,487.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,565,931.52. This trade represents a 23.58 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

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.