Meritage Portfolio Management Buys 68 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Meritage Portfolio Management grew its stake in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,610 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management’s holdings in Oracle were worth $615,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC increased its holdings in Oracle by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC now owns 17,626 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $3,003,000 after buying an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. W Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Oracle by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. W Advisors LLC now owns 2,158 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $368,000 after buying an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in Oracle by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 3,957 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $674,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC increased its holdings in Oracle by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 1,730 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $295,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trust Point Inc. increased its holdings in Oracle by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 13,606 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $2,318,000 after buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Oracle Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE ORCL opened at $189.25 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $524.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 1.02. Oracle Co. has a 1-year low of $99.26 and a 1-year high of $190.16. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $167.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $144.31.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, September 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $13.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.23 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 171.38% and a net margin of 20.40%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.95 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.24%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on ORCL shares. Royal Bank of Canada started coverage on Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $165.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Oracle from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Guggenheim raised their target price on Oracle from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Oracle from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Melius raised Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $168.52.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In related news, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total transaction of $1,042,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 42,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,076,685. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.