Meridian Wealth Partners LLC Boosts Holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Meridian Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 5.7% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,740 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the period. Meridian Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $387,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ORCL. Brio Consultants LLC grew its holdings in shares of Oracle by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Brio Consultants LLC now owns 2,942 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $310,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the period. Precision Wealth Strategies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Oracle by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Precision Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 3,951 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $417,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the period. Gilbert & Cook Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter worth about $359,000. Aveo Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter worth about $290,000. Finally, 9258 Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Oracle by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 90,285 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $9,519,000 after purchasing an additional 560 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Lawrence Joseph Ellison sold 1,125,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.69, for a total transaction of $161,651,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 1,145,732,353 shares in the company, valued at approximately $164,630,281,802.57. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of the 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 owns 42,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,076,685. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Lawrence Joseph Ellison sold 1,125,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.69, for a total value of $161,651,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 1,145,732,353 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $164,630,281,802.57. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,868,820 shares of company stock worth $267,819,424 in the last three months. 42.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on ORCL. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Oracle from $160.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Melius upgraded Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday. DA Davidson upped their price target on Oracle from $105.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Guggenheim upped their price target on Oracle from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on Oracle from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Oracle presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $163.88.

Oracle Stock Performance

ORCL stock opened at $167.47 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68. The firm has a market cap of $464.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.01. Oracle Co. has a 12-month low of $99.26 and a 12-month high of $173.99. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $140.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $130.95.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $13.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.23 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 171.38% and a net margin of 20.40%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.95 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5.06 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 24th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.96%. Oracle’s payout ratio is currently 43.13%.

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.