Ballast Advisors LLC Sells 91 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Ballast Advisors LLC lowered its position in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,675 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 91 shares during the period. Ballast Advisors LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $967,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ORCL. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Oracle during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new stake in Oracle in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Oracle during the 2nd quarter valued at $35,000. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. bought a new position in shares of Oracle during the 1st quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Oracle in the 2nd quarter worth $40,000. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Oracle Price Performance

NYSE:ORCL opened at $178.83 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $164.71 and its 200 day moving average is $143.02. Oracle Co. has a 12 month low of $99.26 and a 12 month high of $178.90. The company has a market capitalization of $495.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.28, a P/E/G ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, September 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.95 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.89%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.24%.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In related news, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now 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 SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on ORCL shares. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Oracle from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Oracle from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Melius upgraded shares of Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price objective on Oracle from $105.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus 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.