Marco Investment Management LLC Sells 1,843 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Marco Investment Management LLC lessened its stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 110,759 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 1,843 shares during the quarter. Oracle comprises approximately 1.4% of Marco Investment Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Marco Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $15,639,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Oracle by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 151,213,890 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $18,993,977,000 after acquiring an additional 1,514,569 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in Oracle by 0.4% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 18,466,713 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $2,319,604,000 after purchasing an additional 82,551 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC increased its stake in Oracle by 17.7% in the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 14,599,902 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,539,268,000 after purchasing an additional 2,191,342 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in Oracle by 148.8% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 12,872,300 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,616,855,000 after purchasing an additional 7,699,141 shares during the period. Finally, Putnam Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Oracle by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 12,339,385 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,300,941,000 after purchasing an additional 697,961 shares in the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Oracle

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Argus raised their price objective on Oracle from $145.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Oracle from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Oracle from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Oracle from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Oracle from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Oracle has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $157.52.

Oracle Price Performance

NYSE:ORCL opened at $155.82 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.25, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.71. The firm has a market cap of $429.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.01. Oracle Co. has a 52 week low of $99.26 and a 52 week high of $160.52. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $138.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $129.13.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its earnings results on Monday, September 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $13.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.23 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 19.76% and a return on equity of 223.01%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.95 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.13%.

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.