North Star Asset Management Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

North Star Asset Management Inc. lowered its stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,296 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 125 shares during the period. North Star Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $2,725,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,210,181,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in 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 worth $1,616,855,000 after purchasing an additional 7,699,141 shares during the period. Boston Partners raised its holdings in Oracle by 382.4% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,563,366 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $481,820,000 after purchasing an additional 3,617,413 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its position in shares of Oracle by 22.1% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 18,384,162 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,938,242,000 after buying an additional 3,323,334 shares during the period. Finally, PineStone Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Oracle by 131.2% in the 2nd quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,911,201 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $552,262,000 after acquiring an additional 2,219,450 shares in the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In other Oracle news, Chairman Lawrence Joseph Ellison sold 1,125,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.69, for a total transaction of $161,651,250.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 1,145,732,353 shares in the company, valued at approximately $164,630,281,802.57. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Oracle news, insider Edward Screven sold 235,918 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.30, for a total value of $34,042,967.40. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,626,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $379,042,045.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Lawrence Joseph Ellison sold 1,125,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 1,145,732,353 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $164,630,281,802.57. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,862,500 shares of company stock valued at $266,776,624 in the last three months. Company insiders own 42.80% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Trading Down 0.6 %

ORCL stock opened at $141.78 on Friday. Oracle Co. has a twelve month low of $99.26 and a twelve month high of $146.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $390.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.25. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $138.72 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $128.33.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.65 by ($0.02). Oracle had a net margin of 19.76% and a return on equity of 223.01%. The firm had revenue of $14.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.57 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.35 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 11th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 11th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.13%. Oracle’s payout ratio is 43.13%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ORCL. Argus lifted their target price on shares of Oracle from $145.00 to $159.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on Oracle from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Oracle from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Oracle from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $145.83.

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.