Welch Group LLC Acquires 2,814 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Welch Group LLC lifted its holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 4.8% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 61,940 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,814 shares during the quarter. Welch Group LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $10,555,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew 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 valued at $18,993,977,000 after purchasing an additional 1,514,569 shares during the period. Capital World Investors raised its stake in Oracle by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 18,466,713 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $2,319,604,000 after buying an additional 82,551 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc lifted 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 acquiring an additional 296,866 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted 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 acquiring an additional 7,699,141 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Oracle by 6.2% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,318,962 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,033,430,000 after acquiring an additional 424,500 shares in the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Oracle news, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total value of $1,042,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 42,889 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,076,685. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 42.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Oracle Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of Oracle stock traded down $0.88 during trading on Monday, reaching $172.64. 486,313 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,323,060. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68. The firm has a market cap of $475.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 1.01. Oracle Co. has a 1 year low of $99.26 and a 1 year high of $178.61. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $160.15 and its 200 day moving average is $140.45.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, September 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.93%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.13%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on ORCL. UBS Group reiterated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Oracle in a report on Friday, October 18th. JMP Securities lifted their target price on Oracle from $175.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Oracle from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Oracle from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Oracle from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Oracle presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $168.52.

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.