Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Sold by Daiwa Securities Group Inc.

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 149,630 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 2,943 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $15,775,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle during the third quarter worth $25,000. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE grew its stake in Oracle by 298.4% during the 3rd quarter. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE now owns 243 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Oracle in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 139.4% during the 4th quarter. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. now owns 371 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Safra Catz sold 790,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $141,546,631.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 42.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. HSBC increased their price target on Oracle from $144.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Oppenheimer started coverage on Oracle in a report on Thursday. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. KeyCorp assumed coverage on shares of Oracle in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. They set an “overweight” rating and a $150.00 price target on the stock. William Blair upgraded shares of Oracle from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Oracle from $125.00 to $122.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $130.76.

Oracle Price Performance

Oracle stock opened at $117.61 on Thursday. Oracle Co. has a 52-week low of $93.29 and a 52-week high of $132.77. The company’s 50 day moving average is $119.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $112.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.34. The firm has a market cap of $323.25 billion, a PE ratio of 31.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.01.

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

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 24th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.36%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.