Kentucky Retirement Systems Sells 8,775 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Kentucky Retirement Systems decreased its position in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 111,353 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 8,775 shares during the period. Oracle makes up about 0.6% of Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Oracle were worth $18,975,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Oracle Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of ORCL stock opened at $183.71 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $509.07 billion, a PE ratio of 47.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 1.02. Oracle Co. has a 52-week low of $99.26 and a 52-week high of $191.77. The business’s fifty day moving average is $172.14 and its 200 day moving average is $146.60. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, September 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $13.31 billion for 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 company’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.95 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.24%.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In related news, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on Oracle from $201.00 to $202.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. JMP Securities lifted their target price on Oracle from $175.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Oracle from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Oracle from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Oracle presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $169.52.

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.