Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Sold by Ascent Group LLC

Ascent Group LLC lowered its stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 11.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,024 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 1,744 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $1,980,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Werlinich Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Oracle by 3.1% during the second quarter. Werlinich Asset Management LLC now owns 2,325 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $326,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. RFP Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Oracle by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 2,869 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $405,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. ERn Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. ERn Financial LLC now owns 12,911 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,823,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Key Financial Inc lifted its stake in Oracle by 1.2% during the second quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 6,600 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $932,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Oracle by 18.0% during the first quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 530 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on ORCL. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Oracle from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. DA Davidson upped their target price on Oracle from $105.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Oracle from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. JMP Securities raised shares of Oracle from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $175.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Oracle from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $166.13.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Oracle 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 in the company, valued at $7,076,685. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.89, for a total value of $2,068,350.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 58,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,010,030.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction on 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 owns 42,889 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,076,685. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 1,573,181 shares of company stock worth $225,338,245. Corporate insiders own 42.80% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Stock Performance

Shares of ORCL stock opened at $168.74 on Monday. Oracle Co. has a fifty-two week low of $99.26 and a fifty-two week high of $173.99. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $144.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $133.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The firm has a market cap of $467.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.48, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 1.01.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $13.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.23 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 171.38% and a net margin of 20.40%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.95 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

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