Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Sold by MFA Wealth Services

MFA Wealth Services lessened its holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 4.5% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 4,520 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 211 shares during the quarter. MFA Wealth Services’ holdings in Oracle were worth $632,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ORCL. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. increased its stake in Oracle by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. now owns 1,423 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $237,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. New England Capital Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in Oracle by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. New England Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,061 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $177,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the period. Cape ANN Savings Bank increased its stake in Oracle by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Cape ANN Savings Bank now owns 5,820 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $970,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Greenwood Gearhart Inc. increased its stake in Oracle by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Greenwood Gearhart Inc. now owns 5,731 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $955,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the period. Finally, WorthPointe LLC increased its stake in Oracle by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. WorthPointe LLC now owns 1,734 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $289,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Stock Up 7.8%

ORCL stock opened at $215.54 on Friday. Oracle Co. has a 52 week low of $118.86 and a 52 week high of $216.60. The company has a market capitalization of $602.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.32. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $152.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $160.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.64 by $0.06. Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The company had revenue of $15.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.58 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.63 EPS. Oracle’s revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.93%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.08%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Vice Chairman Jeffrey Henley sold 400,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.42, for a total value of $76,168,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,097,576 shares in the company, valued at $209,000,421.92. The trade was a 26.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.81, for a total transaction of $291,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 34,630 shares in the company, valued at $5,049,400.30. The trade was a 5.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 427,366 shares of company stock worth $80,183,723. 42.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on ORCL shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Oracle from $202.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Oracle from $145.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised shares of Oracle from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Oracle from $210.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Oracle presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $194.32.

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.