Leuthold Group LLC Lowers Stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Leuthold Group LLC cut its stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 78,862 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 703 shares during the period. Oracle comprises approximately 1.3% of Leuthold Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Leuthold Group LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $11,135,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Westend Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Oracle in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Oracle in the second quarter worth about $27,000. Tidemark LLC bought a new stake in shares of Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Oracle in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on ORCL shares. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Oracle from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. DA Davidson raised their target price on Oracle from $105.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. StockNews.com raised Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Oracle from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, JMP Securities upgraded Oracle from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $175.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $163.88.

Oracle Stock Down 1.8 %

ORCL stock opened at $164.49 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $141.34 and a 200 day moving average of $131.19. The firm has a market cap of $453.31 billion, a PE ratio of 44.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.01. Oracle Co. has a twelve month low of $99.26 and a twelve month high of $173.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, September 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.23 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.95 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. Oracle’s payout ratio is 43.13%.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In other Oracle news, insider Edward Screven sold 426,861 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.91, for a total transaction of $60,575,844.51. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 2,626,764 shares in the company, valued at approximately $372,764,079.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Oracle news, insider Edward Screven sold 426,861 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.91, for a total value of $60,575,844.51. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 2,626,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $372,764,079.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $7,076,685. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,610,402 shares of company stock valued at $230,556,257 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 42.80% 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.