Palisade Asset Management LLC Sells 1,960 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Palisade Asset Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 189,520 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 1,960 shares during the quarter. Oracle accounts for about 3.2% of Palisade Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Palisade Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $32,294,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Oracle by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,416,362 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $411,748,000 after buying an additional 121,874 shares in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. raised its holdings in Oracle by 15.3% during the second quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 24,800 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $3,502,000 after acquiring an additional 3,300 shares in the last quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp acquired a new position in Oracle during the third quarter valued at approximately $4,160,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Oracle by 79.6% in the third quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 286,460 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $48,813,000 after purchasing an additional 126,985 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Buckley Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Oracle by 63.8% during the 3rd quarter. Buckley Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,370 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,256,000 after purchasing an additional 2,870 shares during the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Oracle Trading Down 0.1 %

ORCL opened at $192.29 on Friday. 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 $196.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $532.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.56, a P/E/G ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $175.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $149.20.

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

Oracle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.83%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.24%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 42,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,076,685. This represents a 12.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 42.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ORCL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Oracle from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Royal Bank of Canada assumed coverage on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $165.00 price target for the company. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Oracle from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Guggenheim lifted their price target on Oracle from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Oracle from $150.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $169.52.

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.