Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Stake Lowered by John G Ullman & Associates Inc.

John G Ullman & Associates Inc. decreased its stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,855 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 500 shares during the period. John G Ullman & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $3,554,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Oracle by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,416,362 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $411,748,000 after acquiring an additional 121,874 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. increased its stake in shares of Oracle by 15.3% in the second quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 24,800 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $3,502,000 after purchasing an additional 3,300 shares during the period. Chase Investment Counsel Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle in the third quarter valued at approximately $4,160,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 79.6% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 286,460 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $48,813,000 after buying an additional 126,985 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Buckley Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Oracle by 63.8% during the third quarter. Buckley Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,370 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,256,000 after buying an additional 2,870 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Stock Performance

ORCL stock opened at $190.76 on Thursday. Oracle Co. has a 52 week low of $99.26 and a 52 week high of $191.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market cap of $528.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.17, a P/E/G ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 1.02. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $174.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $148.37.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its earnings results on Monday, September 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.95 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.84%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.24%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total value of $1,042,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 42,889 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,076,685. The trade was a 12.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 42.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ORCL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Oracle from $150.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Oracle from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Melius raised shares of 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, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Oracle from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $169.52.

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.