Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC Trims Holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC trimmed its position in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 23.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 27,453 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 8,522 shares during the period. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $4,678,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in ORCL. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new position in Oracle during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new position in shares of Oracle during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Oracle in the second quarter valued at $35,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Oracle in the third quarter worth $44,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Oracle during the second quarter valued at $40,000. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ORCL. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Oracle from $160.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Mizuho lifted their price target on Oracle from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Oracle from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Guggenheim lifted their target price on Oracle from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $168.52.

Oracle Price Performance

NYSE:ORCL traded up $4.02 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $171.86. 2,046,245 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,285,419. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $162.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $141.58. Oracle Co. has a 52-week low of $99.26 and a 52-week high of $178.61. The company has a market cap of $476.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.05, a P/E/G ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its quarterly 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. Oracle had a return on equity of 171.38% and a net margin of 20.40%. The firm had revenue of $13.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.95 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.93%. Oracle’s payout ratio is presently 41.24%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In other Oracle news, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total value of $1,042,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 42,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,076,685. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 42.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.