Northwest Bank & Trust Co Sells 6,397 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Northwest Bank & Trust Co cut its position in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 30.8% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 14,364 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 6,397 shares during the period. Oracle accounts for about 1.9% of Northwest Bank & Trust Co’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Northwest Bank & Trust Co’s holdings in Oracle were worth $2,448,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Oracle by 1.0% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 151,213,890 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $18,993,977,000 after acquiring an additional 1,514,569 shares during the period. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in shares of Oracle by 0.4% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 18,466,713 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $2,319,604,000 after acquiring an additional 82,551 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $1,869,816,000 after acquiring an additional 296,866 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in shares of Oracle by 148.8% during 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 acquiring an additional 7,699,141 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Oracle by 6.2% during the second 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 acquiring an additional 424,500 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Stock Down 1.5 %

ORCL stock traded down $2.75 during trading on Thursday, reaching $175.54. 2,685,787 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,527,113. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $150.03 and its 200 day moving average is $136.15. Oracle Co. has a twelve month low of $99.26 and a twelve month high of $178.61. 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 firm has a market cap of $483.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.01.

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

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. Oracle’s payout ratio is currently 43.13%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Oracle from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” 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 target for the company in a report on Monday, September 16th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Oracle from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Bank of America raised their price target on Oracle from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $167.42.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 42,889 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,076,685. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.89, for a total transaction of $2,068,350.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 58,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,010,030.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total value of $1,042,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 42,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,076,685. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,146,320 shares of company stock worth $164,762,400. Corporate insiders own 42.80% of the company’s stock.

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.