Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Sold by Commerce Bank

Commerce Bank lessened its stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 2.6% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 400,108 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 10,661 shares during the period. Commerce Bank’s holdings in Oracle were worth $68,178,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sachetta LLC raised its position in shares of Oracle by 94.2% in the 3rd quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 6,919 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,179,000 after buying an additional 3,357 shares during the period. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Oracle in the 3rd quarter worth about $70,000. Thompson Davis & CO. Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Oracle by 62.5% in the 3rd quarter. Thompson Davis & CO. Inc. now owns 3,494 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $595,000 after purchasing an additional 1,344 shares in the last quarter. West Family Investments Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Oracle by 27.5% in the 3rd quarter. West Family Investments Inc. now owns 5,678 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $968,000 after purchasing an additional 1,224 shares in the last quarter. Finally, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,188,000. 42.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on ORCL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Oracle from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Melius Research upgraded Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Oracle from $160.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Oracle from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $169.52.

Oracle Stock Up 1.7 %

NYSE:ORCL opened at $188.90 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $173.72 and a 200-day moving average of $148.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $523.45 billion, a PE ratio of 48.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.02. Oracle Co. has a 52 week low of $99.26 and a 52 week high of $191.77.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its earnings results on Monday, September 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.39 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $13.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.23 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.95 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In other news, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,076,685. This represents a 12.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 42.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.