Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. Trims Position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. cut its stake in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 14.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm 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 reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Clear Investment Research LLC bought a new stake in shares of Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its holdings in Oracle by 843.3% during the first quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 283 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 253 shares during the period. Steward Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Oracle in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. purchased a new stake in Oracle during the first quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in shares of Oracle in the 1st quarter worth $32,000. Institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. HSBC initiated coverage on shares of Oracle in a research report on Friday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $144.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America raised their price objective on Oracle from $112.00 to $132.00 in a research report on Tuesday, June 13th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Oracle from $125.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Oracle from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $112.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 13th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price objective on Oracle from $105.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Friday, June 9th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Oracle has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $123.06.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In related news, Chairman Lawrence Joseph Ellison sold 1,750,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.95, for a total transaction of $211,662,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 1,145,732,353 shares in the company, valued at approximately $138,576,328,095.35. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Chairman Lawrence Joseph Ellison sold 1,750,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Maria Smith sold 3,680 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.00, for a total transaction of $423,200.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,600 shares in the company, valued at $1,909,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,845,000 shares of company stock valued at $222,934,550 over the last quarter. 43.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Oracle Price Performance

Shares of Oracle stock traded up $0.17 on Tuesday, hitting $112.38. 3,915,607 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,129,420. The stock has a market capitalization of $307.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $117.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $106.40. Oracle Co. has a 1-year low of $60.78 and a 1-year high of $127.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 29.72.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its earnings results on Monday, September 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $12.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.48 billion. Oracle had a negative return on equity of 470.73% and a net margin of 18.40%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.81 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 4.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 12th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 11th. Oracle’s payout ratio is presently 47.62%.

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.