Waters Parkerson & CO. LLC Sells 1,337 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Waters Parkerson & CO. LLC cut its position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 166,505 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 1,337 shares during the period. Oracle makes up approximately 1.5% of Waters Parkerson & CO. LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Waters Parkerson & CO. LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $27,746,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new position in Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 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 stake in Oracle by 129.0% in the fourth quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 213 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Finally, Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter worth $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Trading Up 0.6%

ORCL opened at $160.31 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $448.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.27. Oracle Co. has a 1-year low of $114.55 and a 1-year high of $198.31. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $142.91 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $162.45. 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 announced its earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 EPS 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.41 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.25%. This is a positive change from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. Oracle’s payout ratio is currently 46.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Oracle in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Mizuho cut their target price on Oracle from $210.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Oracle from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. DA Davidson dropped their price target on shares of Oracle from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $130.00 price target (down from $190.00) on shares of Oracle in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Oracle has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $174.42.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Oracle news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.24, for a total value of $2,646,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 58,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,785,531.60. This trade represents a 23.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 34,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,049,400.30. The trade was a 5.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 27,366 shares of company stock valued at $4,015,723. Corporate 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.