Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Holdings Cut by National Bank of Canada FI

National Bank of Canada FI reduced its stake in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 6.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 625,903 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 46,536 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI’s holdings in Oracle were worth $89,528,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ORCL. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Oracle during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,210,181,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 7,699,141 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its holdings in Oracle by 382.4% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,563,366 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $481,820,000 after acquiring an additional 3,617,413 shares during the period. Capital World Investors grew its position in shares of Oracle by 22.1% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 18,384,162 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,938,242,000 after purchasing an additional 3,323,334 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PineStone Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Oracle by 131.2% in the second quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,911,201 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $552,262,000 after purchasing an additional 2,219,450 shares during the period. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Oracle Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ORCL traded up $0.80 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $141.55. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,077,828 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,003,273. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $138.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $128.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.25, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.72. Oracle Co. has a fifty-two week low of $99.26 and a fifty-two week high of $146.59. The company has a market capitalization of $390.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.01.

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). Oracle had a net margin of 19.76% and a return on equity of 223.01%. The company had revenue of $14.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.57 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.35 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In other news, Chairman Lawrence Joseph Ellison sold 1,125,000 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 1,145,732,353 shares in the company, valued at $164,630,281,802.57. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Chairman Lawrence Joseph Ellison sold 1,125,000 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the chairman now owns 1,145,732,353 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $164,630,281,802.57. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Edward Screven sold 235,918 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.30, for a total transaction of $34,042,967.40. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 2,626,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $379,042,045.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,862,500 shares of company stock worth $266,776,624. Insiders own 42.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on ORCL shares. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Oracle from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Oracle from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Oracle from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. TD Cowen upped their price target on Oracle from $145.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Oracle from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Oracle presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.