Estabrook Capital Management Sells 560 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Estabrook Capital Management reduced its holdings in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 13.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,607 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 560 shares during the quarter. Estabrook Capital Management’s holdings in Oracle were worth $509,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in Oracle by 148.8% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 12,872,300 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,616,855,000 after acquiring an additional 7,699,141 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its position in shares of Oracle by 22.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 18,384,162 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,938,242,000 after purchasing an additional 3,323,334 shares in the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Oracle by 131.2% during the second quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,911,201 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $552,262,000 after purchasing an additional 2,219,450 shares during the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC grew its position in Oracle by 17.7% in the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 14,599,902 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,539,268,000 after purchasing an additional 2,191,342 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Oracle by 97.4% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,242,647 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $532,920,000 after buying an additional 2,093,893 shares during the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on ORCL. Melius upgraded Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on Oracle from $159.00 to $171.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Oracle from $160.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Melius Research upgraded shares of Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $166.13.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In related news, insider Edward Screven sold 426,861 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 42,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,076,685. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Edward Screven sold 426,861 shares of Oracle 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 transaction, the insider now owns 2,626,764 shares in the company, valued at approximately $372,764,079.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 1,610,402 shares of company stock worth $230,556,257. 42.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Oracle Stock Performance

Shares of ORCL opened at $168.00 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $142.30 and a 200-day moving average price of $131.96. The company has a market cap of $465.52 billion, a PE ratio of 45.28, a price-to-earnings-growth 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.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, September 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.39 EPS 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 analysts’ expectations of $13.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.95 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

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

About Oracle

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.