Chesley Taft & Associates LLC Cuts Stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Chesley Taft & Associates LLC cut its stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 174,749 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 2,815 shares during the quarter. Oracle comprises about 1.4% of Chesley Taft & Associates LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $29,777,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Westend Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Oracle in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Oracle in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in Oracle during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Oracle during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Alaska Permanent Fund Corp acquired a new position in shares of Oracle in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 42.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Oracle Trading Down 0.5 %

Oracle stock opened at $169.94 on Tuesday. Oracle Co. has a 12-month low of $99.26 and a 12-month high of $173.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $470.91 billion, a PE ratio of 45.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.01. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $147.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $135.24.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its 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 business had revenue of $13.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.95 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Oracle news, insider Edward Screven sold 426,861 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now owns 2,626,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $372,764,079.24. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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 transaction of $60,575,844.51. Following the sale, the insider now owns 2,626,764 shares in the company, valued at approximately $372,764,079.24. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,076,685. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,573,181 shares of company stock worth $225,338,245. Corporate insiders own 42.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ORCL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Oracle from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Oracle from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Oracle from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Melius upgraded Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on Oracle from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.