JGP Wealth Management LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

JGP Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 2.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 18,862 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 502 shares during the period. JGP Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $3,214,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Westend Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Oracle during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 2nd quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Alaska Permanent Fund Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Price Performance

Shares of ORCL stock traded down $0.38 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $175.03. 2,643,006 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,519,732. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $150.79 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $136.43. Oracle Co. has a 1-year low of $99.26 and a 1-year high of $178.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The firm has a market cap of $485.02 billion, a PE ratio of 45.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 1.01.

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

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.91%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.24%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In other Oracle news, Chairman Lawrence Joseph Ellison sold 1,125,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.69, for a total value of $161,651,250.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,145,732,353 shares in the company, valued at $164,630,281,802.57. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Chairman Lawrence Joseph Ellison sold 1,125,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.69, for a total transaction of $161,651,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 1,145,732,353 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $164,630,281,802.57. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 58,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,010,030.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,146,320 shares of company stock worth $164,762,400 in the last quarter. 42.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on ORCL. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Oracle from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Oracle from $160.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Argus lifted their price target on shares of Oracle from $145.00 to $159.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Oracle from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $167.42.

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.