Melqart Asset Management UK Ltd Trims Stock Holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Melqart Asset Management UK Ltd lowered its holdings in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 24.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 35,485 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 11,506 shares during the quarter. Melqart Asset Management UK Ltd’s holdings in Oracle were worth $6,047,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Oracle in the second quarter worth about $27,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new position in Oracle in the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Oracle during the second quarter worth approximately $35,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Oracle during the third quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle in the second quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ORCL has been the subject of several research reports. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Oracle in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of Oracle from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on shares of Oracle from $201.00 to $202.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Oracle from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Oracle from $160.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $169.52.

Oracle Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of ORCL opened at $182.89 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $178.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $152.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68. The company has a market capitalization of $506.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.14, a PEG ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 1.03. Oracle Co. has a 52 week low of $99.26 and a 52 week high of $196.04.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. Oracle had a net margin of 20.40% and a return on equity of 171.38%. The business had revenue of $13.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.95 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. Oracle’s payout ratio is currently 41.24%.

Insider Activity

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 transaction of $1,042,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 42,889 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,076,685. This represents a 12.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

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.