CENTRAL TRUST Co Boosts Stake in Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL)

CENTRAL TRUST Co raised its holdings in shares of Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL) by 4.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 45,782 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,931 shares during the quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co’s holdings in Oracle were worth $6,401,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ORCL. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Oracle during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new position in Oracle during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Oracle during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Oracle during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Oracle during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In other Oracle news, Vice Chairman Jeffrey Henley sold 400,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.42, for a total transaction of $76,168,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 1,097,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $209,000,421.92. This represents a 26.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 58,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,785,531.60. This represents a 23.15% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 427,366 shares of company stock valued at $80,183,723 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on ORCL. Stephens began coverage on Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $167.00 target price for the company. CIBC reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Wall Street Zen lowered Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their price target on Oracle from $214.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on Oracle from $156.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $194.32.

Oracle Trading Down 1.5%

NYSE ORCL opened at $207.85 on Wednesday. Oracle Corporation has a 1-year low of $118.86 and a 1-year high of $216.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.07. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $155.97 and a 200-day moving average of $160.82. The firm has a market cap of $581.34 billion, a PE ratio of 47.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 1.32.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.64 by $0.06. Oracle had a return on equity of 87.34% and a net margin of 21.68%. The company had revenue of $15.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.63 EPS. Oracle’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Oracle Corporation will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. Oracle’s payout ratio is 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.