Boltwood Capital Management Reduces Position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Boltwood Capital Management decreased its holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,442 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 861 shares during the period. Boltwood Capital Management’s holdings in Oracle were worth $1,950,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ORCL. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Oracle by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 402,314 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $42,416,000 after acquiring an additional 23,662 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its position in shares of Oracle by 9.4% during the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 37,637 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $3,968,000 after purchasing an additional 3,242 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC grew its position in shares of Oracle by 12.1% during the 4th quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC now owns 200,245 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $21,112,000 after purchasing an additional 21,675 shares in the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of Oracle by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 7,827 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $825,000 after purchasing an additional 541 shares during the period. Finally, Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Oracle by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. now owns 11,445 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,207,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Oracle news, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total value of $1,042,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 42,889 shares in the company, valued at $7,076,685. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total value of $1,042,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 42,889 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,076,685. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.89, for a total value of $2,068,350.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 58,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,010,030.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,573,181 shares of company stock worth $225,338,245 in the last quarter. 42.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ORCL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Oracle from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Oracle from $160.00 to $172.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Oracle from $140.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Oracle from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Oracle from $160.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Oracle presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $167.42.

Oracle Price Performance

Shares of Oracle stock opened at $167.73 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $464.79 billion, a PE ratio of 45.21, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.01. The business has a 50 day moving average of $146.63 and a 200 day moving average of $134.63. Oracle Co. has a 52 week low of $99.26 and a 52 week high of $173.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its earnings results on Monday, September 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.06. Oracle had a net margin of 20.40% and a return on equity of 171.38%. The firm had revenue of $13.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.95 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.13%.

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.