QV Investors Inc. Trims Holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

QV Investors Inc. lowered its position in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 26.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 34,085 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 12,490 shares during the quarter. QV Investors Inc.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $5,808,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Oracle during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Westend Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Oracle during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Oracle in the second quarter worth $30,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Oracle during the second quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in Oracle during the second quarter valued at $40,000. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Oracle Trading Down 1.1 %

NYSE ORCL opened at $174.10 on Wednesday. Oracle Co. has a 12 month low of $99.26 and a 12 month high of $178.61. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $153.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $137.62. The stock has a market cap of $479.80 billion, a PE ratio of 46.93, a PEG ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 1.01. 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 (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its earnings results on Monday, September 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.06. Oracle had a net margin of 20.40% and a return on equity of 171.38%. The business had revenue of $13.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.23 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.95 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.92%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.13%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on ORCL shares. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on shares of Oracle from $201.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Melius Research upgraded Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Oracle from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Oracle from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Oracle from $160.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $167.42.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In other Oracle news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.89, for a total transaction of $2,068,350.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 58,090 shares in the company, valued at $8,010,030.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Oracle news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.89, for a total transaction of $2,068,350.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 58,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,010,030.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total value of $1,042,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 42,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,076,685. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 42.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.