Ritholtz Wealth Management Sells 3,486 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Ritholtz Wealth Management lowered its holdings in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 4.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 83,951 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 3,486 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in Oracle were worth $8,851,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Oracle in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE grew its holdings in Oracle by 298.4% in the 3rd quarter. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE now owns 243 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management bought a new stake in Oracle in the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its holdings in Oracle by 1,268.0% in the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 342 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 317 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BluePath Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Oracle in the 3rd quarter worth $45,000. Institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In other news, CEO Safra Catz sold 790,000 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.54, for a total value of $99,966,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at $141,546,631.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 42.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Oracle from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Oracle from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. HSBC lifted their target price on shares of Oracle from $144.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Oracle from $126.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 12th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $130.76.

Oracle Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of Oracle stock opened at $125.56 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.34, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $345.10 billion, a PE ratio of 33.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.00. Oracle Co. has a 52-week low of $89.71 and a 52-week high of $132.77. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $116.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $111.47.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its earnings results on Monday, March 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $13.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.29 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 20.27% and a return on equity of 336.11%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.96 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.27%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is presently 42.22%.

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.