Sit Investment Associates Inc. Has $19.17 Million Stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Sit Investment Associates Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 0.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 115,026 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 485 shares during the quarter. Sit Investment Associates Inc.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $19,168,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ORCL. Howard Capital Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 12.4% in the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 8,019 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,366,000 after acquiring an additional 883 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Oracle by 5.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,416,362 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $411,748,000 after purchasing an additional 121,874 shares during the period. United Bank raised its stake in shares of Oracle by 4.8% during the third quarter. United Bank now owns 11,430 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,948,000 after buying an additional 519 shares during the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc bought a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 3rd quarter valued at $2,590,000. Finally, Quarry LP increased its holdings in Oracle by 2,273.8% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,899 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $324,000 after purchasing an additional 1,819 shares during the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Oracle Price Performance

Shares of ORCL opened at $128.17 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $358.48 billion, a PE ratio of 31.34, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The company’s 50-day moving average is $160.05 and its 200-day moving average is $169.33. Oracle Co. has a fifty-two week low of $112.78 and a fifty-two week high of $198.31.

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 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 company had revenue of $14.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.40 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.41 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.56%. This is a positive change from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Oracle news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.81, for a total transaction of $291,620.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 34,630 shares in the company, valued at $5,049,400.30. This represents a 5.46 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.35, for a total transaction of $389,448,893.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,331,027.20. The trade was a 65.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 2,448,328 shares of company stock worth $453,791,001 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on ORCL shares. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their target price on shares of Oracle from $214.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Oracle from $220.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Oracle from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Oracle from $194.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Oracle to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $178.65.

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.