Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC Sells 7,020 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC cut its position in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 2.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 291,288 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 7,020 shares during the period. Oracle accounts for 1.2% of Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $30,710,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ORCL. Sandy Spring Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 78,049 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $8,229,000 after buying an additional 1,107 shares during the period. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI grew its position in shares of Oracle by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI now owns 5,986 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $631,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Quantum Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Oracle during the third quarter worth approximately $229,000. Cooper Financial Group lifted its holdings in Oracle by 43.4% during the 4th quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 5,038 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $531,000 after purchasing an additional 1,525 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mendota Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at $171,000. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 790,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.54, for a total transaction 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 $141,546,631.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Oracle news, CEO Safra Catz sold 790,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were 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 $141,546,631.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director George H. Conrades sold 25,000 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.13, for a total value of $2,903,250.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 17,836 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,071,294.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 42.80% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Oracle Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:ORCL traded up $0.84 during trading on Friday, reaching $115.80. The stock had a trading volume of 4,484,976 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,128,065. Oracle Co. has a 52 week low of $94.41 and a 52 week high of $132.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.34, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $119.91 and its 200 day moving average is $113.38. The stock has a market cap of $318.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.03.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.04. Oracle had a return on equity of 336.11% and a net margin of 20.27%. The firm had revenue of $13.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.29 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.96 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 24th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.38%. Oracle’s payout ratio is currently 42.22%.

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.