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

Cynosure Group LLC reduced its position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 15.0% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,827 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 497 shares during the period. Cynosure Group LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $482,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ORCL. Activest Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Oracle by 21.9% in the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 312 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Cadence Bank lifted its holdings in Oracle by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Cadence Bank now owns 7,605 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,296,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC grew its position in shares of Oracle by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC now owns 17,626 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $3,003,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. W Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Oracle by 3.1% during the third quarter. W Advisors LLC now owns 2,158 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $368,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in Oracle by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 3,957 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $674,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Oracle news, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total transaction of $1,042,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 42,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,076,685. The trade was a 12.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Stock Down 4.0 %

ORCL opened at $182.76 on Thursday. 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 capitalization of $506.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.10, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.02. Oracle Co. has a fifty-two week low of $99.26 and a fifty-two week high of $196.04. The company’s 50-day moving average is $176.80 and its 200 day moving average is $150.89.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, September 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $13.31 billion during 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.95 EPS. Research analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.24%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on ORCL shares. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Oracle from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Melius Research raised shares of Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Oracle from $160.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Oracle from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on Oracle from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $169.52.

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.