Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Sold by Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC lessened its holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 1.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 15,739 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 265 shares during the quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $2,222,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 1.0% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 151,213,890 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $18,993,977,000 after acquiring an additional 1,514,569 shares during the period. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 0.4% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 18,466,713 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $2,319,604,000 after acquiring an additional 82,551 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Oracle by 17.7% in the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 14,599,902 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,539,268,000 after purchasing an additional 2,191,342 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in Oracle by 148.8% in the first 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 period. Finally, Putnam Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Oracle by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 12,339,385 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,300,941,000 after purchasing an additional 697,961 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of Oracle stock opened at $139.91 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $385.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.71, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.25. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $138.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $128.82. Oracle Co. has a 12-month low of $99.26 and a 12-month high of $146.59.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its earnings results on Monday, September 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $13.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.23 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 223.01% and a net margin of 19.76%. The company’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.95 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.14%. Oracle’s payout ratio is currently 43.13%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on ORCL. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Oracle from $142.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $105.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Oracle from $110.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Monday. StockNews.com cut shares of Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Oracle from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $146.30.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Jeffrey Berg sold 22,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.12, for a total transaction of $3,220,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 210,712 shares in the company, valued at $30,157,101.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 58,090 shares in the company, valued at $8,010,030.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Jeffrey Berg sold 22,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.12, for a total value of $3,220,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 210,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,157,101.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,862,500 shares of company stock valued at $266,776,624 over the last 90 days. 42.80% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.