Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. Lowers Stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. cut its position in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 14.8% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 6,323 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 1,102 shares during the quarter. Symphony Financial Ltd. Co.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $743,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Oracle by 1.4% in the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 118,649 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $14,130,000 after purchasing an additional 1,628 shares during the period. Constitution Capital LLC grew its holdings in Oracle by 3.4% in the second quarter. Constitution Capital LLC now owns 3,000 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $357,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Keel Point LLC grew its holdings in Oracle by 11.9% in the second quarter. Keel Point LLC now owns 4,966 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $591,000 after purchasing an additional 527 shares during the period. Community Trust & Investment Co. purchased a new stake in Oracle in the second quarter valued at approximately $208,000. Finally, Henrickson Nauta Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Oracle by 6.7% in the second quarter. Henrickson Nauta Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 2,741 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $326,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the period. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Oracle Price Performance

ORCL traded up $0.17 on Tuesday, reaching $112.38. The company had a trading volume of 3,915,607 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,129,420. The company has a fifty day moving average of $117.28 and a 200-day moving average of $106.40. The company has a market capitalization of $307.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.36, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 29.72. Oracle Co. has a one year low of $60.78 and a one year high of $127.54.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its earnings results on Monday, September 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $12.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.48 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 18.40% and a negative return on equity of 470.73%. Oracle’s revenue was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.81 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 4.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 12th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 11th. Oracle’s payout ratio is 47.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In other Oracle news, Chairman Lawrence Joseph Ellison sold 1,750,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.95, for a total value of $211,662,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 1,145,732,353 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $138,576,328,095.35. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Oracle news, Chairman Lawrence Joseph Ellison sold 1,750,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.95, for a total transaction of $211,662,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 1,145,732,353 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $138,576,328,095.35. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Maria Smith sold 1,320 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.78, for a total transaction of $154,149.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,280 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,368,298.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 1,845,000 shares of company stock valued at $222,934,550. 43.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on ORCL. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Oracle from $150.00 to $147.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 12th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Oracle from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 12th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Oracle from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 7th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Oracle from $125.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 12th. Finally, VNET Group reissued a “maintains” rating on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, June 13th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Oracle currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $123.06.

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.