Argent Trust Co Buys 7,025 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Argent Trust Co increased its stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 7.2% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 104,852 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after buying an additional 7,025 shares during the period. Argent Trust Co’s holdings in Oracle were worth $14,805,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Contour Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Oracle by 41.5% in the 4th quarter. Contour Asset Management LLC now owns 2,192,950 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $231,203,000 after purchasing an additional 643,490 shares during the period. Hancock Whitney Corp raised its position in Oracle by 12.7% in the fourth quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 29,301 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $3,089,000 after acquiring an additional 3,291 shares during the period. Heritage Wealth Advisors boosted its stake in shares of Oracle by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Heritage Wealth Advisors now owns 16,995 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,792,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Seven Mile Advisory grew its position in shares of Oracle by 10.6% during the 4th quarter. Seven Mile Advisory now owns 5,236 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $552,000 after acquiring an additional 502 shares during the period. Finally, Goelzer Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Oracle by 25.0% in the 1st quarter. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,492 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $941,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Melius Research upgraded Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Oracle from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Oracle from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Oracle from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Oracle from $150.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $163.88.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In related news, 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 directly owns 42,889 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,076,685. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 42,889 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,076,685. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Edward Screven sold 235,918 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.30, for a total value of $34,042,967.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 2,626,764 shares in the company, valued at approximately $379,042,045.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 1,868,820 shares of company stock worth $267,819,424. 42.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Oracle Stock Performance

Oracle stock opened at $167.47 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68. Oracle Co. has a twelve month low of $99.26 and a twelve month high of $173.99. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $140.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $130.95. The company has a market cap of $464.05 billion, a PE ratio of 45.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.01.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, September 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $13.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.23 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 171.38% and a net margin of 20.40%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.95 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.13%.

Oracle Company 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.