First Financial Bank Trust Division Has $5.92 Million Holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

First Financial Bank Trust Division lessened its stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 34,746 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 825 shares during the quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division’s holdings in Oracle were worth $5,921,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Oracle by 1.0% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 151,213,890 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $18,993,977,000 after purchasing an additional 1,514,569 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in Oracle by 0.4% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 18,466,713 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $2,319,604,000 after purchasing an additional 82,551 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in Oracle by 2.3% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 13,242,340 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,869,816,000 after purchasing an additional 296,866 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in Oracle by 148.8% during 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 purchasing an additional 7,699,141 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Putnam Investments LLC raised its position in Oracle by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 12,339,385 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,300,941,000 after acquiring an additional 697,961 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Trading Up 0.3 %

ORCL opened at $167.73 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $146.63 and its 200-day moving average is $134.63. 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. The company has a market cap of $464.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.21, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.01.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, September 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $13.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.23 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 20.40% and a return on equity of 171.38%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.95 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5.01 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. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.95%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.13%.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In related news, Chairman Lawrence Joseph Ellison sold 1,125,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 1,145,732,353 shares in the company, valued at approximately $164,630,281,802.57. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Oracle news, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 42,889 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,076,685. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Lawrence Joseph Ellison sold 1,125,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The stock was 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 approximately $164,630,281,802.57. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,573,181 shares of company stock worth $225,338,245 in the last quarter. 42.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on ORCL. JMP Securities raised shares of Oracle from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $175.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Melius Research raised shares of Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on shares of Oracle from $201.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Oracle from $160.00 to $172.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Oracle from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $167.42.

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.