Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI Sells 146,785 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI trimmed its position in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 13.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 977,484 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 146,785 shares during the quarter. Oracle accounts for approximately 1.3% of Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI’s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest position. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI’s holdings in Oracle were worth $162,888,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vident Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Oracle by 80.1% in the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 221,504 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $36,912,000 after purchasing an additional 98,524 shares in the last quarter. Vienna Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle in the 4th quarter worth $727,000. Virtus Investment Advisers Inc. purchased a new stake in Oracle in the 4th quarter worth $150,000. Visionary Wealth Advisors increased its stake in Oracle by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Visionary Wealth Advisors now owns 11,717 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,953,000 after buying an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vista Cima Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Oracle in the 4th quarter worth $671,000. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ORCL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $130.00 price target (down previously from $190.00) on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price target on Oracle from $214.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Stephens initiated coverage on Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $167.00 price target for the company. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Oracle from $200.00 to $185.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Oracle from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $174.42.

Oracle Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE ORCL opened at $159.46 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The company has a market cap of $446.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.99, a PEG 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 firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $143.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $162.38.

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

Oracle Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.25%. This is an increase from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 5,000 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.77, for a total transaction of $648,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 58,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,538,339.30. The trade was a 7.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now directly owns 34,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,049,400.30. This represents a 5.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 27,366 shares of company stock valued at $4,015,723 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

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.