Bank of New Hampshire Reduces Stock Position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Bank of New Hampshire cut its holdings in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 2.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,024 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 437 shares during the quarter. Bank of New Hampshire’s holdings in Oracle were worth $2,939,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Oracle by 201.7% during the 4th quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,599 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $266,000 after purchasing an additional 1,069 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Oracle by 34.1% in the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Advisory LLC now owns 12,968 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $2,258,000 after acquiring an additional 3,299 shares in the last quarter. Peak Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Oracle in the 4th quarter worth approximately $211,000. AFT Forsyth & Company Inc. grew its position in shares of Oracle by 32.7% in the 4th quarter. AFT Forsyth & Company Inc. now owns 6,739 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,123,000 after acquiring an additional 1,659 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Certuity LLC grew its position in shares of Oracle by 28.9% in the 4th quarter. Certuity LLC now owns 7,811 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,302,000 after acquiring an additional 1,753 shares in the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.81, for a total value of $291,620.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 34,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,049,400.30. The trade was a 5.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 17,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.24, for a total value of $2,646,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 58,090 shares in the company, valued at $8,785,531.60. This represents a 23.15% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 27,366 shares of company stock worth $4,015,723. 42.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Oracle Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of ORCL stock opened at $174.22 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. Oracle Co. has a 1 year low of $118.86 and a 1 year high of $198.31. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $147.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $160.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $487.29 billion, a PE ratio of 42.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.32.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.02). Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The business had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.41 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. This is a positive change from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle’s payout ratio is 46.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on ORCL. Wall Street Zen lowered Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Oracle from $205.00 to $175.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Oracle from $200.00 to $185.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Mizuho decreased their target price on Oracle from $210.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their target price on Oracle from $214.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $174.42.

Oracle Company 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.