Fernwood Investment Management LLC Lowers Position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Fernwood Investment Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 9.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,865 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 200 shares during the period. Fernwood Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $318,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. BNP Paribas purchased a new stake in Oracle in the first quarter valued at about $893,000. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Oracle by 25.0% in the 1st quarter. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,492 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $941,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares in the last quarter. Graypoint LLC grew its position in Oracle by 12.3% during the 1st quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 12,039 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,512,000 after purchasing an additional 1,314 shares during the last quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Oracle by 8.3% during the 1st quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC now owns 6,739 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $774,000 after purchasing an additional 518 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Adapt Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Oracle in the first quarter worth $321,000. Institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Price Performance

ORCL stock traded up $2.18 during trading on Friday, hitting $170.02. The stock had a trading volume of 5,680,595 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,749,102. Oracle Co. has a twelve month low of $99.26 and a twelve month high of $178.61. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $163.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $142.08. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $471.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.82, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.02.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its quarterly 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 $1.33 by $0.06. Oracle had a return on equity of 171.38% and a net margin of 20.40%. The firm had revenue of $13.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.95 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.24%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 42,889 shares in the company, valued at $7,076,685. This represents 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 link. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ORCL has been the topic of several research reports. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Oracle from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Oracle from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Oracle from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Oracle from $160.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, JMP Securities lifted their price objective on shares of Oracle from $175.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Oracle presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $168.52.

Oracle Company 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.