Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Sells 861 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. cut its holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 17.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,975 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 861 shares during the quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $473,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Oracle during the 4th quarter worth $1,409,896,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Oracle by 112,785.9% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,832,530 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $885,451,000 after purchasing an additional 10,822,934 shares during the period. Harris Associates L P increased its stake in Oracle by 31.3% during the 4th quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 19,160,481 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,566,178,000 after purchasing an additional 4,570,472 shares in the last quarter. Putnam Investments LLC raised its holdings in Oracle by 50.0% during the 1st quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 10,989,627 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,021,156,000 after buying an additional 3,664,269 shares during the period. Finally, Neuberger Berman Group LLC lifted its stake in Oracle by 89.8% in the fourth quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 6,929,363 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $565,961,000 after buying an additional 3,277,738 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of ORCL opened at $112.22 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $117.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $106.40. The company has a market cap of $307.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.00. Oracle Co. has a one year low of $60.78 and a one year high of $127.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 29.72, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.87.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, September 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.04. Oracle had a negative return on equity of 470.73% and a net margin of 18.40%. The business had revenue of $12.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.48 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.81 EPS. Oracle’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 4.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 12th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 11th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is 47.62%.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In other Oracle news, Chairman Lawrence Joseph Ellison sold 1,750,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.95, for a total transaction of $211,662,500.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 1,145,732,353 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $138,576,328,095.35. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Chairman Lawrence Joseph Ellison sold 1,750,000 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.95, for a total transaction of $211,662,500.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 1,145,732,353 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $138,576,328,095.35. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Maria Smith sold 3,680 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.00, for a total value of $423,200.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,600 shares in the company, valued at $1,909,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,845,000 shares of company stock valued at $222,934,550 in the last quarter. Insiders own 43.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ORCL has been the topic of several research reports. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Oracle from $116.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Tuesday, June 13th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Oracle from $125.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 12th. DZ Bank raised Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $125.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 14th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Oracle in a research note on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Oracle from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $75.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Tuesday, June 13th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Oracle presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.06.

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.