15,381 Shares in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Purchased by Sciencast Management LP

Sciencast Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 15,381 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,932,000. Oracle comprises approximately 1.2% of Sciencast Management LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ORCL. Westend Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Oracle during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Tidemark LLC acquired a new stake in Oracle in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Nordwand Advisors LLC bought a new position in Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Oracle during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Alaska Permanent Fund Corp bought a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 1st quarter worth about $36,000. Institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ORCL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Oracle from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Oracle from $144.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $105.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $175.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Oracle from $142.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Fourteen equities research 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, Oracle presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $145.83.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In other news, Director George H. Conrades sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.00, for a total value of $2,320,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 17,836 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,068,976. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Edward Screven sold 426,861 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.91, for a total value of $60,575,844.51. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 2,626,764 shares in the company, valued at approximately $372,764,079.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director George H. Conrades sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.00, for a total value of $2,320,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,836 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,068,976. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 812,500 shares of company stock worth $113,578,574. 42.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Oracle Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of Oracle stock traded up $2.01 during trading on Friday, hitting $144.77. 7,358,731 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,609,288. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $130.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $120.70. Oracle Co. has a twelve month low of $99.26 and a twelve month high of $145.79. The stock has a market cap of $398.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.02, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.25, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.71.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its 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). The business had revenue of $14.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.57 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 223.01% and a net margin of 19.76%. The business’s revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.35 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 11th will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 11th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is 43.13%.

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.