Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Sold by Ledyard National Bank

Ledyard National Bank trimmed its stake in shares of Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL) by 4.5% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 85,027 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 4,020 shares during the period. Oracle accounts for about 1.2% of Ledyard National Bank’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Ledyard National Bank’s holdings in Oracle were worth $11,888,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Oracle by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 157,411,949 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $26,231,127,000 after buying an additional 2,296,069 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Oracle by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 38,002,902 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $6,332,803,000 after buying an additional 156,269 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Oracle by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,814,302 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $5,954,961,000 after buying an additional 619,619 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Oracle by 9.3% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 20,202,421 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $3,366,531,000 after buying an additional 1,722,037 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Oracle by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 19,620,534 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $3,269,566,000 after buying an additional 2,176,892 shares in the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ORCL. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised Oracle from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Oracle from $150.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. CIBC reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Monday, June 9th. KeyCorp raised their price objective on Oracle from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Finally, Stephens began coverage on Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $167.00 price objective for the company. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Oracle currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $196.74.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In related news, Vice Chairman Jeffrey Henley sold 400,000 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.42, for a total value of $76,168,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 1,097,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $209,000,421.92. This trade represents a 26.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 5,000 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction on Friday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.77, for a total value of $648,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 58,090 shares in the company, valued at $7,538,339.30. The trade was a 7.93% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 442,366 shares of company stock worth $83,395,223. 42.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Oracle Price Performance

ORCL stock opened at $207.08 on Tuesday. Oracle Corporation has a 52-week low of $118.86 and a 52-week high of $216.60. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $161.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $161.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $581.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 1.32.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.64 by $0.06. Oracle had a return on equity of 87.34% and a net margin of 21.68%. The business had revenue of $15.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.63 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Oracle Corporation will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. Oracle’s payout ratio is currently 46.08%.

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.