Sound Shore Management Inc. CT Sells 21,492 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Sound Shore Management Inc. CT reduced its stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 674,325 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 21,492 shares during the quarter. Oracle makes up 3.2% of Sound Shore Management Inc. CT’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Sound Shore Management Inc. CT’s holdings in Oracle were worth $95,215,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Westend Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle in the first quarter worth $25,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Tidemark LLC acquired a new position in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC bought a new position in Oracle in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in Oracle during the second quarter worth $30,000. Institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In other news, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total transaction of $1,042,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 42,889 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,076,685. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Oracle news, Chairman Lawrence Joseph Ellison sold 1,125,000 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.69, for a total transaction of $161,651,250.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 1,145,732,353 shares in the company, valued at $164,630,281,802.57. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 42,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,076,685. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,610,402 shares of company stock valued at $230,556,257. 42.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Oracle Price Performance

Oracle stock opened at $167.96 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $465.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.27, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.01. Oracle Co. has a 12-month low of $99.26 and a 12-month 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. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $142.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $131.81.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, September 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $13.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.95 earnings per share. Oracle’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.95%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.13%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ORCL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Melius upgraded shares of Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Oracle from $140.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. DA Davidson raised their target price on Oracle from $105.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, KeyCorp upped their price target on Oracle from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $163.88.

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.