Argyle Capital Management Inc. Has $3.98 Million Holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Argyle Capital Management Inc. decreased its holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 3.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 23,371 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 829 shares during the period. Oracle comprises 1.6% of Argyle Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Argyle Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $3,982,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in Oracle by 148.8% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 12,872,300 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,616,855,000 after purchasing an additional 7,699,141 shares during the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Oracle by 131.2% in the second quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,911,201 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $552,262,000 after buying an additional 2,219,450 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in Oracle by 97.4% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,242,647 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $532,920,000 after acquiring an additional 2,093,893 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Oracle by 16,023.4% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,065,083 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $351,890,000 after acquiring an additional 2,052,275 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Altshuler Shaham Ltd grew its position in Oracle by 5,853.1% in the second quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 1,552,580 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $219,224,000 after acquiring an additional 1,526,500 shares in the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ORCL. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on shares of Oracle from $201.00 to $202.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating on shares of Oracle in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Oracle from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Guggenheim upped their target price on Oracle from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Oracle from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $168.52.

Oracle Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ORCL traded up $0.51 on Tuesday, hitting $172.93. The stock had a trading volume of 701,096 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,304,980. The company has a market capitalization of $479.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.72. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $160.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $140.79. Oracle Co. has a twelve month low of $99.26 and a twelve month high of $178.61.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, September 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.06. Oracle had a net margin of 20.40% and a return on equity of 171.38%. The firm had revenue of $13.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.95 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.93%. Oracle’s payout ratio is 41.24%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Oracle news, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total transaction of $1,042,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 42,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,076,685. This 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. Insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

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.