Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Sold by Meridian Investment Counsel Inc.

by · The Markets Daily

Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL – Free Report) by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,718 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 1,000 shares during the period. Oracle accounts for approximately 1.3% of Meridian Investment Counsel Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $4,382,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 18,466,713 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $2,319,604,000 after acquiring an additional 82,551 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in Oracle by 2.3% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 13,242,340 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,869,816,000 after purchasing an additional 296,866 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in shares of Oracle by 148.8% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 12,872,300 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,616,855,000 after buying an additional 7,699,141 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 6.2% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,318,962 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,033,430,000 after buying an additional 424,500 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Oracle by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,182,917 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,015,862,000 after acquiring an additional 66,444 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Oracle from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Barclays increased their price objective on Oracle from $160.00 to $172.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Oracle from $150.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Melius upgraded Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Oracle from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Oracle currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $169.52.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on Oracle

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In other Oracle 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 42,889 shares in the company, valued at $7,076,685. This represents a 12.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Stock Performance

NYSE:ORCL opened at $183.71 on Friday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $509.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 1.02. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $172.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $146.60. Oracle Co. has a twelve month low of $99.26 and a twelve month high of $191.77.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL – Get Free Report) 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 business had revenue of $13.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.23 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 20.40% and a return on equity of 171.38%. The company’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.95 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.24%.

Oracle Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.

See Also

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