Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Director Naomi O. Seligman Sells 2,000 Shares

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.81, for a total transaction of $291,620.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 34,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,049,400.30. This represents a 5.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Oracle Stock Performance

Shares of Oracle stock opened at $128.17 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $358.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $160.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $169.33. Oracle Co. has a 12 month low of $112.78 and a 12 month high of $198.31.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.40 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. Oracle’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.41 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.56%. This is a positive change from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is 46.95%.

Institutional Trading of Oracle

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Exeter Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Oracle by 0.7% in the first quarter. Exeter Financial LLC now owns 29,511 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $4,126,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Oracle by 0.8% during the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 13,694 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,915,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Agate Pass Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 6.6% in the first quarter. Agate Pass Investment Management LLC now owns 23,452 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $3,279,000 after acquiring an additional 1,455 shares during the period. Legacy Private Trust Co. grew its position in shares of Oracle by 31.5% in the first quarter. Legacy Private Trust Co. now owns 2,193 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $307,000 after purchasing an additional 525 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Central Pacific Bank Trust Division raised its stake in shares of Oracle by 30.6% during the 1st quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 30,025 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $4,198,000 after purchasing an additional 7,029 shares during the period. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup lowered their target price on Oracle from $194.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price objective on Oracle from $214.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $150.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Stephens assumed coverage on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $167.00 target price for the company. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Oracle has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $178.65.

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.