Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL) is Sawyer & Company Inc’s 3rd Largest Position

Sawyer & Company Inc decreased its stake in shares of Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL) by 3.9% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 69,663 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 2,852 shares during the quarter. Oracle accounts for 3.9% of Sawyer & Company Inc’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Sawyer & Company Inc’s holdings in Oracle were worth $9,740,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ORCL. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Oracle by 1.5% in the fourth 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. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Oracle by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 38,002,902 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $6,332,803,000 after purchasing an additional 156,269 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Oracle by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,814,302 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $5,954,961,000 after purchasing an additional 619,619 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Oracle by 9.3% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 20,202,421 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $3,366,531,000 after acquiring an additional 1,722,037 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Oracle by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 19,620,534 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $3,269,566,000 after acquiring an additional 2,176,892 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Stock Down 2.8%

Shares of NYSE ORCL opened at $205.06 on Friday. Oracle Corporation has a 1 year low of $118.86 and a 1 year high of $216.60. The firm has a market cap of $573.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.25, a PEG ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.07, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 0.75. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $160.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $161.52.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.64 by $0.06. Oracle had a return on equity of 87.34% and a net margin of 21.68%. The business had revenue of $15.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.58 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.63 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Oracle Corporation will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. Oracle’s payout ratio is 46.08%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on ORCL shares. CIBC reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Oracle in a report on Monday, June 9th. Guggenheim lifted their target price on Oracle from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Oracle in a report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $195.00 target price (up previously from $145.00) on shares of Oracle in a report on Friday, June 13th. Finally, Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Oracle in a report on Thursday, June 12th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Oracle has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $196.74.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In related news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.81, for a total value of $291,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 34,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,049,400.30. The trade was a 5.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 17,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now directly owns 58,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,785,531.60. This represents a 23.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 442,366 shares of company stock valued at $83,395,223. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.