Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Sold by Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co.

Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. lowered its stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 80.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,649 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 14,685 shares during the quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $515,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Westend Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Oracle in the first quarter valued at $25,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Oracle in the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new position in Oracle in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle during the second quarter valued at about $35,000. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In other news, Chairman Lawrence Joseph Ellison sold 1,125,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.69, for a total value of $161,651,250.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 1,145,732,353 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $164,630,281,802.57. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Chairman Lawrence Joseph Ellison sold 1,125,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.69, for a total value of $161,651,250.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,145,732,353 shares in the company, valued at $164,630,281,802.57. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, 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 transaction of $1,042,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 42,889 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,076,685. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 1,573,181 shares of company stock valued at $225,338,245. Corporate insiders own 42.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on ORCL shares. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Oracle in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Oracle from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Argus upped their price target on shares of Oracle from $145.00 to $159.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Oracle from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Oracle from $140.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $166.13.

Oracle Price Performance

NYSE ORCL opened at $168.74 on Monday. Oracle Co. has a 1 year low of $99.26 and a 1 year high of $173.99. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $144.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $133.79. The company has a market cap of $467.57 billion, a PE ratio of 45.48, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its earnings results on Monday, September 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.06. Oracle had a net margin of 20.40% and a return on equity of 171.38%. The company had revenue of $13.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.95 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5.01 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.13%.

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.