Capital Investment Counsel Inc Sells 1,893 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Capital Investment Counsel Inc trimmed its holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 4.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 38,723 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 1,893 shares during the quarter. Oracle comprises 0.9% of Capital Investment Counsel Inc’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Capital Investment Counsel Inc’s holdings in Oracle were worth $6,598,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of Oracle by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 7,758 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $974,000 after buying an additional 357 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management increased its position in Oracle by 13.1% in the first quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 20,635 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $2,592,000 after purchasing an additional 2,383 shares during the period. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new stake in Oracle during the 1st quarter worth about $53,000. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Oracle by 12.7% during the 1st quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,657 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $459,000 after purchasing an additional 413 shares during the period. Finally, GoalVest Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Oracle in the 1st quarter valued at about $88,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Oracle

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

Oracle Price Performance

Shares of ORCL opened at $173.10 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $479.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.61, a PEG ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 1.01. 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 company’s fifty day simple moving average is $158.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $139.61. Oracle Co. has a 1-year low of $99.26 and a 1-year high of $178.61.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its earnings results on Monday, September 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.06. Oracle had a net margin of 20.40% and a return on equity of 171.38%. The company had revenue of $13.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.95 EPS. Oracle’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast 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 will be paid on Thursday, October 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. Oracle’s payout ratio is presently 41.24%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on ORCL shares. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Oracle from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Barclays upped their price objective on Oracle from $160.00 to $172.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Citigroup increased their target price on Oracle from $140.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. JMP Securities boosted their target price on Oracle from $175.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Oracle currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $168.52.

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.