Hancock Whitney Corp Sells 2,129 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Hancock Whitney Corp reduced its position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 7.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 25,613 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 2,129 shares during the quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp’s holdings in Oracle were worth $4,364,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

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

Oracle Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE ORCL opened at $194.26 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $175.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $149.64. Oracle Co. has a twelve month low of $99.26 and a twelve month high of $196.04. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $538.31 billion, a PE ratio of 49.56, a PEG ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 1.02.

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

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.24%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on ORCL shares. Royal Bank of Canada began coverage on Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $165.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Oracle from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. StockNews.com raised shares of Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Oracle from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Melius Research raised shares of Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $169.52.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In related 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 42,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,076,685. This represents a 12.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

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.