Oracle Corporation $ORCL Stock Position Boosted by ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its position in shares of Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL) by 1.7% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 478,903 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after buying an additional 7,960 shares during the quarter. Oracle makes up approximately 3.9% of ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $104,702,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Oracle during the first quarter worth about $27,000. Inlight Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Oracle during the first quarter worth about $28,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Oracle by 284.9% during the first quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 204 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle during the second quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, HighMark Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle during the second quarter valued at about $38,000. 42.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Oracle Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of ORCL stock opened at $286.23 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.33, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $815.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 66.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $262.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $205.11. Oracle Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $118.86 and a fifty-two week high of $345.72.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $14.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.04 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 21.08% and a return on equity of 72.93%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.39 EPS. Oracle has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 1.270-1.310 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Oracle Corporation will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 9th. Oracle’s payout ratio is 46.30%.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In other Oracle news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 3,303 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.32, for a total transaction of $770,655.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 31,447 shares in the company, valued at $7,337,214.04. The trade was a 9.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Clayton M. Magouyrk sold 21,241 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $297.11, for a total transaction of $6,310,913.51. Following the transaction, the insider owned 78,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,174,580. This trade represents a 21.40% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 104,314 shares of company stock worth $31,272,223 over the last ninety days. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $240.00 price target (up from $200.00) on shares of Oracle in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. Berenberg Bank lifted their price target on shares of Oracle from $202.00 to $306.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Oracle from $145.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Oracle from $246.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets set a $345.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have given a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $304.71.

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.