American Trust Makes New $223,000 Investment in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

American Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 1,310 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock, valued at approximately $223,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in Oracle by 11.6% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 18,480,384 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $3,370,640,000 after purchasing an additional 1,917,416 shares in the last quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of Oracle by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 308,325 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $52,540,000 after purchasing an additional 14,122 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Oracle by 12.8% during the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 174,645 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $29,760,000 after acquiring an additional 19,848 shares during the period. Destination Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Oracle by 27.2% during the 3rd quarter. Destination Wealth Management now owns 6,241 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,063,000 after buying an additional 1,335 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its stake in Oracle by 95.0% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 150,127 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $25,582,000 after acquiring an additional 73,135 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Stock Performance

Shares of ORCL stock opened at $173.39 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $484.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $180.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $155.93. Oracle Co. has a one year low of $99.36 and a one year high of $198.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.81.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by ($0.01). Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The business had revenue of $14.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.12 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.34 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5.17 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 9th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.12%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Oracle news, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of the business’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 in the company, valued at $7,076,685. The trade was a 12.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 42.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ORCL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Oracle from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. StockNews.com cut Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Oracle from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Oracle from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $183.63.

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.