Leon E. Panetta Sells 5,000 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Stock

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Director Leon E. Panetta sold 5,000 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction on Friday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.77, for a total transaction of $648,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 58,090 shares in the company, valued at $7,538,339.30. This trade represents a 7.93 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Oracle Stock Performance

Oracle stock opened at $128.56 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $151.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $166.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $359.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.43, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. Oracle Co. has a 12-month low of $112.78 and a 12-month high of $198.31.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.02). Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The company had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.40 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.41 earnings per share. Oracle’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This is a positive change from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is 46.95%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Oracle

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ORCL. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,216,314,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $930,095,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Oracle by 15,012.3% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,755,096 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $664,810,000 after acquiring an additional 4,723,631 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in Oracle by 20.5% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 13,825,360 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $2,303,858,000 after acquiring an additional 2,350,448 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Oracle by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 157,411,949 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $26,231,127,000 after purchasing an additional 2,296,069 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Oracle from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Oracle from $200.00 to $185.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Oracle from $210.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised shares of Oracle from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Westpark Capital began coverage on shares of Oracle in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $195.00 price objective on the stock. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Oracle has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $176.73.

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.