Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Sold by Godshalk Welsh Capital Management Inc.

Godshalk Welsh Capital Management Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 0.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,970 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 265 shares during the quarter. Oracle makes up about 3.1% of Godshalk Welsh Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Godshalk Welsh Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $4,655,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ORCL. Westend Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Oracle during the first quarter worth $25,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new position in Oracle during the second quarter worth $27,000. Tidemark LLC bought a new position in Oracle during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC bought a new position in Oracle during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new position in Oracle during the second quarter worth $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Lawrence Joseph Ellison sold 1,125,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.69, for a total value of $161,651,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 1,145,732,353 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $164,630,281,802.57. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Chairman Lawrence Joseph Ellison sold 1,125,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.69, for a total value of $161,651,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 1,145,732,353 shares in the company, valued at $164,630,281,802.57. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $1,042,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 42,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,076,685. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 1,610,402 shares of company stock valued at $230,556,257. 42.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ORCL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group raised their target price on Oracle from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Barclays raised their target price on Oracle from $160.00 to $172.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Citigroup raised their target price on Oracle from $140.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Oracle presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $163.88.

Oracle Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE ORCL opened at $167.56 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $461.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.16, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.01. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $141.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $131.44. Oracle Co. has a 52 week low of $99.26 and a 52 week high of $173.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.72.

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. The firm had revenue of $13.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.23 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 171.38% and a net margin of 20.40%. The company’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.95 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

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

About Oracle

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.