Argent Capital Management LLC Sells 3,123 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Argent Capital Management LLC cut its position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 162,451 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 3,123 shares during the quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $27,682,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Oracle in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Oracle during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Oracle in the 2nd quarter valued at $35,000. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Oracle during the 2nd quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Avondale Wealth Management bought a new position in Oracle during the third quarter worth $51,000. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Melius Research upgraded shares of Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Oracle from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. UBS Group reiterated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on Oracle from $201.00 to $202.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $168.52.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In other Oracle news, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 42,889 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,076,685. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 42.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Oracle Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of Oracle stock traded up $1.12 during trading on Thursday, hitting $174.22. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,196,893 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,372,256. The stock has a market cap of $482.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.72. Oracle Co. has a 52 week low of $99.26 and a 52 week high of $178.61. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $158.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $139.61.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced 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. Oracle had a return on equity of 171.38% and a net margin of 20.40%. The business had revenue of $13.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.95 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.24%.

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.