Argent Capital Management LLC Cuts Stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Argent Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 2.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 158,791 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 3,660 shares during the period. Argent Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $26,461,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp boosted its position in Oracle by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 70,441,556 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $12,003,241,000 after buying an additional 1,847,561 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Oracle by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,194,683 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $5,977,015,000 after purchasing an additional 885,041 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Oracle by 11.6% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 18,480,384 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $3,370,640,000 after purchasing an additional 1,917,416 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Oracle by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 17,898,029 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $3,049,824,000 after purchasing an additional 310,709 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in shares of Oracle by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 14,608,951 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $2,489,345,000 after acquiring an additional 54,868 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of Oracle stock opened at $158.35 on Thursday. Oracle Co. has a 1-year low of $105.42 and a 1-year high of $198.31. 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 business’s fifty day moving average price is $176.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $161.24. The company has a market capitalization of $442.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.72, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.06.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its earnings results on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by ($0.01). Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The firm had revenue of $14.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.34 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5.01 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 23rd were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.01%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $165.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of Oracle from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Oracle to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Oracle from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.48.

Oracle Company 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.