Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Sold by BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A.

BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lowered its stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 20.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 333,194 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 86,951 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $56,776,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of ORCL. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Oracle in the second quarter worth $27,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Oracle in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle in the second quarter valued at about $35,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Oracle during the third quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in Oracle during the second quarter worth about $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In other news, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 42,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,076,685. This trade represents a 12.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on ORCL. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Oracle from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Oracle from $150.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Royal Bank of Canada started coverage on Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $165.00 price target for the company. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on shares of Oracle from $201.00 to $202.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $169.52.

Oracle Price Performance

ORCL opened at $192.81 on Friday. Oracle Co. has a 1 year low of $99.26 and a 1 year high of $196.04. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $175.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $148.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $534.29 billion, a PE ratio of 49.69, a P/E/G ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.72.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, September 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $13.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.23 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 20.40% and a return on equity of 171.38%. Oracle’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.95 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 24th. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.83%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.24%.

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.