Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 52.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 157,468 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 176,944 shares during the period. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $19,780,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Oracle by 5.7% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 147,273,413 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $15,599,200,000 after buying an additional 7,883,515 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 22.1% during 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 purchasing an additional 3,323,334 shares during the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Oracle by 17.7% in the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 14,599,902 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,539,268,000 after purchasing an additional 2,191,342 shares in the last quarter. Putnam Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Oracle by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 12,339,385 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,300,941,000 after purchasing an additional 697,961 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Oracle by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,909,069 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,223,775,000 after buying an additional 204,546 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Stock Performance

Shares of Oracle stock traded up $0.18 on Tuesday, hitting $143.27. The stock had a trading volume of 5,919,811 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,684,125. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $125.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $118.49. The stock has a market cap of $394.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.25. Oracle Co. has a 52-week low of $99.26 and a 52-week high of $145.32.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.65 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $14.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.57 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 19.76% and a return on equity of 223.01%. Oracle’s revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.35 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5.01 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 11th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 11th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.12%. Oracle’s payout ratio is 43.13%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Oracle from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on shares of Oracle from $159.00 to $171.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of Oracle from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Oracle from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $145.83.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In other Oracle news, Director George H. Conrades sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.00, for a total value of $2,320,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,836 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,068,976. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Oracle news, Director George H. Conrades sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.00, for a total transaction of $2,320,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 17,836 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,068,976. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Jeffrey Berg sold 22,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.12, for a total value of $3,220,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 210,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,157,101.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 385,639 shares of company stock worth $53,002,729. 42.80% of the stock is currently owned by 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.