Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Stake Reduced by ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd

ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd lessened its stake in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 23.6% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,252,060 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 387,827 shares during the quarter. Oracle comprises approximately 6.4% of ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd’s holdings in Oracle were worth $176,791,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Contour Asset Management LLC raised its position in Oracle by 41.5% during the 4th quarter. Contour Asset Management LLC now owns 2,192,950 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $231,203,000 after purchasing an additional 643,490 shares during the last quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp lifted its stake in Oracle by 12.7% in the fourth quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 29,301 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $3,089,000 after acquiring an additional 3,291 shares during the period. Heritage Wealth Advisors boosted its holdings in Oracle by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Heritage Wealth Advisors now owns 16,995 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,792,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Seven Mile Advisory increased its position in Oracle by 10.6% during the 4th quarter. Seven Mile Advisory now owns 5,236 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $552,000 after purchasing an additional 502 shares during the period. Finally, Goelzer Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Oracle by 25.0% in the 1st quarter. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,492 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $941,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on shares of Oracle from $159.00 to $171.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $125.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $105.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Oracle from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Oracle from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $145.83.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In other news, Director Jeffrey Berg sold 22,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.12, for a total transaction of $3,220,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 210,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,157,101.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Director Jeffrey Berg sold 22,500 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.12, for a total transaction of $3,220,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 210,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,157,101.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Edward Screven sold 235,918 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.30, for a total value of $34,042,967.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 2,626,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $379,042,045.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,862,500 shares of company stock worth $266,776,624. 42.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Oracle Price Performance

NYSE ORCL opened at $142.61 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $393.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.44, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.01. Oracle Co. has a 1-year low of $99.26 and a 1-year high of $146.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.25, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $138.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $128.12.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $14.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.57 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 19.76% and a return on equity of 223.01%. The firm’s revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.35 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 11th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.12%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 11th. Oracle’s payout ratio is 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.