Investment Partners Asset Management Inc. Decreases Holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Investment Partners Asset Management Inc. lowered its stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 2.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 8,570 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 250 shares during the quarter. Investment Partners Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $1,076,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Westend Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Oracle in the first quarter worth about $25,000. Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Oracle in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management purchased a new position in Oracle during the third quarter valued at $27,000. Tidemark LLC purchased a new stake in Oracle during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Oracle during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. 42.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Oracle Price Performance

NYSE ORCL traded up $2.34 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $140.57. The stock had a trading volume of 2,405,952 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,543,098. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $124.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $117.62. The company has a market cap of $387.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.01. Oracle Co. has a 52-week low of $99.26 and a 52-week high of $145.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.25.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $14.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.57 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 19.76% and a return on equity of 223.01%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.35 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 11th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 11th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.14%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In related news, insider Edward Screven sold 235,918 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.30, for a total transaction of $34,042,967.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 2,626,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $379,042,045.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, insider Edward Screven sold 235,918 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 20th. The stock was 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 $379,042,045.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director George H. Conrades sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.00, for a total value of $2,320,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 17,836 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,068,976. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 348,418 shares of company stock worth $47,784,717 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 42.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on ORCL shares. Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $125.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday. William Blair upgraded shares of Oracle from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 12th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Oracle from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Oracle from $142.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Oracle from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Oracle currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $145.83.

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.