Mizuho Securities USA LLC Has $17.66 Million Stock Position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC lessened its stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 15.7% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 103,648 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 19,270 shares during the quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $17,662,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ORCL. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Oracle during the second quarter worth $27,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Oracle in the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Oracle during the second quarter worth about $35,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Oracle during the third quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in Oracle during the second quarter worth about $40,000. Institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on ORCL shares. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Oracle from $140.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Oracle from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Royal Bank of Canada started coverage on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $165.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Oracle from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, DA Davidson raised their price objective on Oracle from $105.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $169.52.

Oracle Price Performance

ORCL stock opened at $190.76 on Thursday. Oracle Co. has a 1 year low of $99.26 and a 1 year high of $191.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.72. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $174.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $148.37. The firm has a market cap of $528.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.17, a PEG ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 1.02.

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

Oracle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.84%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.24%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In related news, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of the firm’s 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 approximately $7,076,685. This trade represents a 12.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 42.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.