Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Sold by Fort L.P.

Fort L.P. decreased its position in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,841 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 148 shares during the period. Oracle accounts for approximately 0.8% of Fort L.P.’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Fort L.P.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $314,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle in the second quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle in the first quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle in the second quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on ORCL. Melius Research upgraded Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Guggenheim boosted 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. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Oracle from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Oracle from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $168.52.

Oracle Stock Performance

Shares of Oracle stock traded up $2.18 on Friday, reaching $170.02. 5,680,595 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,749,102. 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 company’s 50-day moving average is $163.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $142.08. The firm has a market cap of $471.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.82, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.02. Oracle Co. has a 1-year low of $99.26 and a 1-year high of $178.61.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its earnings results on Monday, September 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.06. Oracle had a return on equity of 171.38% and a net margin of 20.40%. The firm had revenue of $13.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.23 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.95 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.24%.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In other news, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total transaction of $1,042,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 42,889 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,076,685. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 42.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.