Financial Counselors Inc. Purchases 3,843 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Financial Counselors Inc. raised its position in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 14.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 30,534 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,843 shares during the quarter. Financial Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $5,203,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in shares of Oracle by 182.5% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 389,754 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $48,957,000 after purchasing an additional 251,767 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC grew its stake in Oracle by 165.2% in the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 114,924 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $14,436,000 after acquiring an additional 71,588 shares during the period. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC increased its holdings in shares of Oracle by 2.4% during the first quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC now owns 205,117 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $25,765,000 after acquiring an additional 4,872 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Oracle during the first quarter worth approximately $54,000. Finally, Objective Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Oracle in the 1st quarter valued at $248,000. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 42,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,076,685. This trade represents a 12.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 42.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on ORCL. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on shares of Oracle from $201.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Oracle from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Oracle in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. UBS Group restated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Oracle in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Oracle from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $169.52.

Oracle Stock Performance

NYSE ORCL opened at $182.70 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $506.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 1.02. 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 company’s 50 day moving average is $177.10 and its 200-day moving average is $151.11. Oracle Co. has a 12-month low of $99.26 and a 12-month high of $196.04.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its earnings results on Monday, September 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.95 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

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

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.