Prudential PLC Grows Stock Holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Prudential PLC increased its stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 9.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 168,388 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,024 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $23,776,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ORCL. Westend Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Oracle in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in Oracle during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Oracle in the second quarter worth approximately $35,000. Tidemark LLC purchased a new position in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In related news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.89, for a total transaction of $2,068,350.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 58,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,010,030.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.89, for a total value of $2,068,350.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 58,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,010,030.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Lawrence Joseph Ellison sold 1,125,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.69, for a total value of $161,651,250.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,145,732,353 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $164,630,281,802.57. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,862,500 shares of company stock worth $266,776,624. 42.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on ORCL shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Oracle from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 17th. StockNews.com cut Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 6th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Oracle from $133.00 to $128.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 10th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Oracle from $144.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Oracle presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $145.87.

Oracle Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of ORCL opened at $142.50 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $392.71 billion, a PE ratio of 38.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.01. The company’s fifty day moving average is $138.72 and its 200 day moving average is $128.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.25, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.71. Oracle Co. has a fifty-two week low of $99.26 and a fifty-two week high of $146.59.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by ($0.02). Oracle had a return on equity of 223.01% and a net margin of 19.76%. The business had revenue of $14.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.57 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.35 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 11th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 11th. Oracle’s payout ratio is 43.13%.

About Oracle

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.