M&G Plc Sells 119,340 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

M&G Plc cut its stake in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 10.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 982,319 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 119,340 shares during the quarter. Oracle comprises approximately 0.9% of M&G Plc’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position. M&G Plc’s holdings in Oracle were worth $166,994,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Oracle during the second quarter valued at $27,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new stake in Oracle in the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Oracle in the 2nd quarter worth about $35,000. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. bought a new stake in Oracle in the 1st quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in Oracle in the 2nd quarter worth about $40,000. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total transaction of $1,042,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 42,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,076,685. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on ORCL. StockNews.com upgraded Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Oracle from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Oracle from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Oracle from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Oracle from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Oracle currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $168.52.

Oracle Price Performance

ORCL stock opened at $181.24 on Thursday. Oracle Co. has a 12 month low of $99.26 and a 12 month high of $182.10. 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 has a 50-day moving average price of $165.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $143.29. The stock has a market cap of $502.23 billion, a PE ratio of 46.71, a P/E/G ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 1.02.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 analysts’ expectations of $13.23 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 20.40% and a return on equity of 171.38%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.95 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.24%.

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.