Wedmont Private Capital Sells 2,062 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Wedmont Private Capital lessened its position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 2.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 89,236 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 2,062 shares during the period. Oracle accounts for 0.6% of Wedmont Private Capital’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Wedmont Private Capital’s holdings in Oracle were worth $11,810,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ORCL. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,216,314,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Oracle during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $930,095,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Oracle by 15,012.3% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,755,096 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $664,810,000 after acquiring an additional 4,723,631 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of Oracle by 20.5% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 13,825,360 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $2,303,858,000 after acquiring an additional 2,350,448 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Oracle by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 157,411,949 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $26,231,127,000 after purchasing an additional 2,296,069 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In related news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 17,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.24, for a total value of $2,646,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 58,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,785,531.60. This represents a 23.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,866 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.53, for a total value of $428,552.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 31,764 shares in the company, valued at $4,749,670.92. The trade was a 8.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 27,366 shares of company stock worth $4,015,723. Corporate insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Stock Up 1.8%

ORCL stock opened at $174.22 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $487.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.60, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The business’s 50-day moving average is $147.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $160.46. Oracle Co. has a fifty-two week low of $118.86 and a fifty-two week high of $198.31.

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

Oracle Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. This is an increase from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.15%. Oracle’s payout ratio is 46.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Westpark Capital started coverage on Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $195.00 price target on the stock. Stephens started coverage on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $167.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of Oracle from $200.00 to $185.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Oracle from $220.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $174.42.

Oracle 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.