Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Lowers Stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

by · The Markets Daily

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board decreased its position in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL – Free Report) by 49.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,036,773 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 1,002,161 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board’s holdings in Oracle were worth $172,768,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Howard Capital Management Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Oracle by 12.4% during the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 8,019 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,366,000 after acquiring an additional 883 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Oracle by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,416,362 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $411,748,000 after purchasing an additional 121,874 shares during the period. Morse Asset Management Inc bought a new position in Oracle during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,590,000. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in Oracle in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $215,000. Finally, Westside Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Oracle by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 14,961 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $2,499,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Oracle from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Oracle from $212.00 to $202.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Oracle from $194.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Oracle from $210.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Oracle presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $176.73.

View Our Latest Stock Report on ORCL

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In other news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.35, for a total transaction of $389,448,893.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $207,331,027.20. The trade was a 65.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 owns 34,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,049,400.30. This trade represents a 5.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 2,453,328 shares of company stock worth $454,439,851 in the last three months. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Oracle Trading Down 0.9 %

Oracle stock opened at $128.56 on Friday. Oracle Co. has a one year low of $112.78 and a one year high of $198.31. The business’s fifty day moving average is $151.82 and its 200 day moving average is $166.61. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $359.58 billion, a PE ratio of 31.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.22.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.40 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.41 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.56%. This is a boost from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.95%.

About Oracle

(Free Report)

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.

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