Wesleyan Assurance Society Lowers Stock Holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Wesleyan Assurance Society lessened its stake in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 1.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 148,569 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 2,000 shares during the period. Oracle makes up about 1.8% of Wesleyan Assurance Society’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Wesleyan Assurance Society’s holdings in Oracle were worth $20,969,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ORCL. Contour Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Oracle by 41.5% in the fourth quarter. Contour Asset Management LLC now owns 2,192,950 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $231,203,000 after acquiring an additional 643,490 shares during the period. Hancock Whitney Corp lifted its stake in shares of Oracle by 12.7% in the 4th quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 29,301 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $3,089,000 after purchasing an additional 3,291 shares during the period. Heritage Wealth Advisors raised its position in Oracle by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Heritage Wealth Advisors now owns 16,995 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,792,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the period. Seven Mile Advisory grew its position in shares of Oracle by 10.6% during the 4th quarter. Seven Mile Advisory now owns 5,236 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $552,000 after acquiring an additional 502 shares during the period. Finally, Goelzer Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Oracle by 25.0% in the 1st quarter. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,492 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $941,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE ORCL traded up $1.11 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $139.19. 4,544,571 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,163,030. The stock has a market capitalization of $383.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.02. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $138.95 and its 200 day moving average price is $126.63. Oracle Co. has a 12 month low of $99.26 and a 12 month high of $146.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.25.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.65 by ($0.02). Oracle had a net margin of 19.76% and a return on equity of 223.01%. The firm had revenue of $14.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.57 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.35 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 11th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 11th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.15%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is 43.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Edward Screven sold 235,918 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.30, for a total value of $34,042,967.40. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,626,764 shares in the company, valued at $379,042,045.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Oracle news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.89, for a total value of $2,068,350.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 58,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,010,030.10. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Edward Screven sold 235,918 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.30, for a total value of $34,042,967.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 2,626,764 shares in the company, valued at approximately $379,042,045.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 1,862,500 shares of company stock valued at $266,776,624. Insiders own 42.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on ORCL shares. StockNews.com lowered Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, June 6th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Oracle from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $175.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Oracle from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Oracle presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $145.83.

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.