The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Reduces Position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company trimmed its holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 8.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,617,875 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 452,583 shares during the quarter. Oracle makes up about 0.6% of The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 0.17% of Oracle worth $652,044,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ORCL. Westend Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Oracle in the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new position in Oracle in the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Oracle during the 2nd quarter worth $35,000. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Chairman Lawrence Joseph Ellison sold 1,125,000 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction on 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 owns 1,145,732,353 shares in the company, valued at approximately $164,630,281,802.57. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Chairman Lawrence Joseph Ellison sold 1,125,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.69, for a total transaction of $161,651,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 1,145,732,353 shares in the company, valued at approximately $164,630,281,802.57. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total value 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 $7,076,685. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,573,181 shares of company stock worth $225,338,245. 42.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Oracle Stock Up 1.1 %

ORCL opened at $168.11 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68. Oracle Co. has a twelve month low of $99.26 and a twelve month high of $173.99. The company has a market cap of $465.83 billion, a PE ratio of 45.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $144.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $133.31.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, September 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $13.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.23 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 171.38% and a net margin of 20.40%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.95 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.95%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.13%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on ORCL shares. Melius Research upgraded shares of Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Oracle from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. KeyCorp raised their price objective on Oracle from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Oracle from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of Oracle from $105.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Ten research 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 company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $166.13.

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.