Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Position Decreased by Waters Parkerson & CO. LLC

Waters Parkerson & CO. LLC lowered its holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 169,275 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 1,078 shares during the period. Oracle comprises 1.3% of Waters Parkerson & CO. LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Waters Parkerson & CO. LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $23,902,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ORCL. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in Oracle by 148.8% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 12,872,300 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,616,855,000 after buying an additional 7,699,141 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in shares of Oracle by 22.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 18,384,162 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,938,242,000 after acquiring an additional 3,323,334 shares in the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Oracle by 131.2% in the 2nd quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,911,201 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $552,262,000 after acquiring an additional 2,219,450 shares during the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Oracle by 17.7% during the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 14,599,902 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,539,268,000 after purchasing an additional 2,191,342 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 97.4% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,242,647 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $532,920,000 after purchasing an additional 2,093,893 shares during the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related 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 transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Edward Screven sold 426,861 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.91, for a total transaction of $60,575,844.51. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 2,626,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $372,764,079.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Lawrence Joseph Ellison sold 1,125,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.69, for a total transaction of $161,651,250.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,145,732,353 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $164,630,281,802.57. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,610,402 shares of company stock valued at $230,556,257. 42.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Oracle Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE:ORCL opened at $167.56 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $461.77 billion, a PE ratio of 45.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.01. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $141.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $131.44. Oracle Co. has a 1 year low of $99.26 and a 1 year high of $173.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its earnings results on Monday, September 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $13.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.95 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is 43.13%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on ORCL shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Oracle from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Oracle from $105.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Melius Research upgraded shares of Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Oracle from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Oracle from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $163.88.

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.