Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) is Palisade Asset Management LLC’s 8th Largest Position

Palisade Asset Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 206,628 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 1,839 shares during the quarter. Oracle comprises about 2.4% of Palisade Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 8th largest position. Palisade Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $21,785,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ORCL. Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Oracle during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE increased its stake in shares of Oracle by 298.4% during the third quarter. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE now owns 243 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 182 shares during the period. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Oracle in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its stake in Oracle by 1,268.0% in the third quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 342 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 317 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. grew its holdings in Oracle by 139.4% during the 4th quarter. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. now owns 371 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Stock Performance

Shares of ORCL stock traded down $0.47 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $117.46. The company had a trading volume of 2,644,011 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,181,578. Oracle Co. has a 52-week low of $96.10 and a 52-week high of $132.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.34, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $120.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $113.57. The stock has a market cap of $322.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.00, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.03.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.04. Oracle had a net margin of 20.27% and a return on equity of 336.11%. The company had revenue of $13.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.29 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.96 EPS. Oracle’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 24th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 9th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is presently 42.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. William Blair upgraded shares of Oracle from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 12th. Argus raised Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. HSBC boosted their target price on Oracle from $144.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of Oracle in a report on Thursday, April 18th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Finally, KeyCorp began coverage on shares of Oracle in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $150.00 target price on the stock. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Oracle presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $130.76.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Safra Catz sold 790,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.54, for a total value of $99,966,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $141,546,631.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director George H. Conrades sold 25,000 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.13, for a total transaction of $2,903,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,836 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,071,294.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Safra Catz sold 790,000 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.54, for a total value of $99,966,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $141,546,631.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 835,000 shares of company stock worth $105,189,850. Company insiders own 42.80% 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.