Clearbridge Investments LLC Sells 30,577 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Clearbridge Investments LLC cut its holdings in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,007,978 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 30,577 shares during the period. Oracle makes up approximately 0.8% of Clearbridge Investments LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned 0.25% of Oracle worth $989,525,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ORCL. Contour Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 41.5% in the fourth quarter. Contour Asset Management LLC now owns 2,192,950 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $231,203,000 after purchasing an additional 643,490 shares in the last quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 12.7% in the fourth quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 29,301 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $3,089,000 after purchasing an additional 3,291 shares in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 15.3% in the second quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 24,800 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $3,502,000 after purchasing an additional 3,300 shares in the last quarter. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 25.0% in the first quarter. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,492 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $941,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 55.7% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 22,315 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $3,151,000 after purchasing an additional 7,982 shares in the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Oracle Stock Performance

NYSE:ORCL opened at $170.39 on Tuesday. 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 Co. has a twelve month low of $99.26 and a twelve month high of $173.99. The company has a fifty day moving average of $145.57 and a 200-day moving average of $134.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $472.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.93, a P/E/G ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 1.01.

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

Oracle Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. Oracle’s payout ratio is 43.13%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on ORCL shares. DA Davidson upped their target price on Oracle from $105.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Oracle from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Barclays increased their price target on Oracle from $160.00 to $172.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Citigroup increased their price target on Oracle from $140.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Oracle in a research report 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. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $167.42.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In related news, insider Edward Screven sold 426,861 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.91, for a total value of $60,575,844.51. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 2,626,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $372,764,079.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Oracle news, insider Edward Screven sold 426,861 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.91, for a total transaction of $60,575,844.51. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 2,626,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $372,764,079.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of the business’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 directly owns 42,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,076,685. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,573,181 shares of company stock valued at $225,338,245 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 42.80% 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.