Benjamin Edwards Inc. Lowers Holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Benjamin Edwards Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,822 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 110 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $963,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Westend Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Oracle in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Oracle in the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Tidemark LLC acquired a new position in Oracle during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ORCL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Melius Research upgraded shares of Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Oracle from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Melius upgraded Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Oracle from $150.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Oracle from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Oracle currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $163.88.

Oracle Stock Performance

Shares of ORCL opened at $167.96 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $465.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.27, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.01. 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 Co. has a 1 year low of $99.26 and a 1 year high of $173.99. The company’s fifty day moving average is $142.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $131.81.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, September 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.06. Oracle had a net margin of 20.40% and a return on equity of 171.38%. The firm had revenue of $13.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.95 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Oracle news, Chairman Lawrence Joseph Ellison sold 1,125,000 shares of the firm’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 sale, the chairman now owns 1,145,732,353 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $164,630,281,802.57. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Oracle news, Chairman Lawrence Joseph Ellison sold 1,125,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $164,630,281,802.57. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Edward Screven sold 426,861 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 2,626,764 shares in the company, valued at approximately $372,764,079.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,610,402 shares of company stock valued at $230,556,257 over the last quarter. Company 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.