Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Sold by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund cut its stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 11.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,056,850 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 273,179 shares during the period. Oracle comprises approximately 0.5% of New York State Common Retirement Fund’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned approximately 0.07% of Oracle worth $350,487,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Oracle in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Oracle during the 2nd quarter worth $35,000. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. acquired a new position in Oracle during the first quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in Oracle in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Melius Research upgraded shares of Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Oracle from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Oracle from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Oracle from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Oracle from $160.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $168.52.

Oracle Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of ORCL traded up $2.25 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $170.09. The company had a trading volume of 467,315 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,277,972. The stock has a market cap of $471.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.26, a PEG ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 1.01. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $162.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $141.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68. Oracle Co. has a 52 week low of $99.26 and a 52 week high of $178.61.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its earnings results on Monday, September 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $13.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.23 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 171.38% and a net margin of 20.40%. The business’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.95 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.24%.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In other news, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total transaction of $1,042,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 42,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,076,685. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

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.