Peoples Financial Services CORP. Decreases Holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Peoples Financial Services CORP. decreased its holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 2.4% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 12,712 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 306 shares during the period. Oracle makes up approximately 1.0% of Peoples Financial Services CORP.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Peoples Financial Services CORP.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $2,166,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ORCL. Sunpointe LLC grew its stake in shares of Oracle by 12.8% during the third quarter. Sunpointe LLC now owns 5,573 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $950,000 after buying an additional 632 shares during the last quarter. Stage Harbor Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Oracle during the 3rd quarter valued at about $240,000. Roberts Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Oracle by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. Roberts Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 20,634 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $3,598,000 after acquiring an additional 1,230 shares during the last quarter. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in Oracle by 19.6% in the 3rd quarter. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,812 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $309,000 after purchasing an additional 297 shares during the period. Finally, Braun Bostich & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Oracle in the third quarter valued at approximately $203,000. Institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ORCL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Argus raised their target price on shares of Oracle from $145.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Oracle from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. StockNews.com raised shares of Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Oracle from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their price target on Oracle from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $167.42.

Oracle Stock Down 1.1 %

ORCL stock traded down $1.83 on Wednesday, reaching $172.26. 696,725 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,462,995. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $153.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $137.62. The company has a market cap of $474.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 1.01. Oracle Co. has a one year low of $99.26 and a one year high of $178.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, September 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.95 EPS. Oracle’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.89, for a total value of $2,068,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 58,090 shares in the company, valued at $8,010,030.10. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 15,000 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.89, for a total value of $2,068,350.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 58,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,010,030.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $7,076,685. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 42.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Oracle

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.