Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Sells 3,763 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. trimmed its position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 148,735 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 3,763 shares during the quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $21,001,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ORCL. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Oracle by 153.3% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 11,947 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,260,000 after purchasing an additional 7,230 shares during the period. Brio Consultants LLC grew its position in shares of Oracle by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Brio Consultants LLC now owns 2,942 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $310,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Precision Wealth Strategies LLC increased its stake in shares of Oracle by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Precision Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 3,951 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $417,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the period. Gilbert & Cook Inc. bought a new stake in Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at $359,000. Finally, Aveo Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Oracle in the 4th quarter worth $290,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ORCL. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $175.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. Barclays increased their target price on Oracle from $160.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Oracle from $150.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Oracle from $110.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Monday. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on Oracle from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $158.68.

Oracle Price Performance

ORCL opened at $157.13 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $139.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $129.32. Oracle Co. has a 52-week low of $99.26 and a 52-week high of $160.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $433.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.01. 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 issued its earnings results on Monday, September 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $13.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.23 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 19.76% and a return on equity of 223.01%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.95 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5.02 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is 43.13%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.89, for a total value of $2,068,350.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 58,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,010,030.10. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Oracle news, insider Edward Screven sold 235,918 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 2,626,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $379,042,045.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 15,000 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.89, for a total value of $2,068,350.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 58,090 shares in the company, valued at $8,010,030.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 1,862,500 shares of company stock valued at $266,776,624. Insiders own 42.80% of the company’s stock.

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.