Capital Market Strategies LLC Boosts Stock Position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Capital Market Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 4.2% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,991 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Capital Market Strategies LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $510,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of Oracle by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 23,743 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $4,046,000 after buying an additional 495 shares in the last quarter. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. raised its stake in shares of Oracle by 10.7% during the 3rd quarter. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. now owns 73,812 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $12,578,000 after buying an additional 7,159 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Oracle by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 325,610 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $55,484,000 after acquiring an additional 21,832 shares during the period. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division grew its holdings in shares of Oracle by 65.2% in the 3rd quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 19,712 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $3,359,000 after acquiring an additional 7,779 shares during the period. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its holdings in shares of Oracle by 20.6% in the 3rd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 18,513 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $3,155,000 after acquiring an additional 3,167 shares during the period. 42.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Oracle news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $8,010,030.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Oracle news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $8,010,030.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 42,889 shares in the company, valued at $7,076,685. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,573,181 shares of company stock valued at $225,338,245. 42.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ORCL. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Oracle from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Bank of America upped their price target on Oracle from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Oracle in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Guggenheim upped their price target on Oracle from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Oracle from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $167.42.

Oracle Price Performance

ORCL stock opened at $166.92 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. The stock has a market capitalization of $462.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.01. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $147.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $134.86. Oracle Co. has a 52-week low of $99.26 and a 52-week high of $173.99.

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

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.13%.

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.