Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Bought by Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 4.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,359 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the period. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $548,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Oracle during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Oracle during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Tidemark LLC bought a new position in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Nordwand Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC bought a new position in Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 790,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.54, for a total value of $99,966,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at $141,546,631.68. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Oracle news, Director Michael J. Boskin sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.74, for a total transaction of $5,298,300.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 87,473 shares in the company, valued at $10,299,071.02. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Safra Catz sold 790,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.54, for a total value of $99,966,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $141,546,631.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 880,000 shares of company stock valued at $110,488,150 over the last three months. 42.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Oracle Price Performance

ORCL stock opened at $142.95 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $122.66 and a two-hundred day moving average of $116.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $392.90 billion, a PE ratio of 38.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.01. Oracle Co. has a one year low of $99.26 and a one year high of $145.32.

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

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 11th will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.12%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 11th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.13%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on ORCL shares. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Oracle from $133.00 to $128.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 10th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Oracle from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Oracle from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Oracle from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Finally, Argus increased their target price on shares of Oracle from $145.00 to $159.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $144.79.

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.