Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Stock Holdings Decreased by Meridian Investment Counsel Inc.

Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 25,718 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 1,000 shares during the period. Oracle comprises about 1.3% of Meridian Investment Counsel Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $4,382,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Oracle by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,416,362 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $411,748,000 after buying an additional 121,874 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. raised its stake in Oracle by 15.3% during the second quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 24,800 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $3,502,000 after acquiring an additional 3,300 shares during the period. Chase Investment Counsel Corp bought a new position in Oracle in the third quarter worth about $4,160,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Oracle by 79.6% in the third quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 286,460 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $48,813,000 after acquiring an additional 126,985 shares during the period. Finally, Buckley Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Oracle by 63.8% during the third quarter. Buckley Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,370 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,256,000 after purchasing an additional 2,870 shares during the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Oracle news, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 42,889 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,076,685. This represents a 12.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Oracle from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Oracle from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of Oracle from $105.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Oracle from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on Oracle from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $169.52.

Oracle Trading Down 1.8 %

NYSE ORCL opened at $183.71 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68. Oracle Co. has a 12 month low of $99.26 and a 12 month high of $191.77. The company has a market capitalization of $509.07 billion, a PE ratio of 47.35, a P/E/G ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 1.02. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $172.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $146.60.

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

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.87%. 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.