Strategic Financial Services Inc. Trims Stake in Oracle Corporation $ORCL

Strategic Financial Services Inc. lowered its stake in Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL) by 4.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 27,335 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 1,202 shares during the quarter. Oracle makes up about 0.2% of Strategic Financial Services Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Strategic Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $3,822,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ORCL. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Oracle by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,290 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $879,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Tacita Capital Inc raised its holdings in Oracle by 6.0% in the 1st quarter. Tacita Capital Inc now owns 1,245 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $174,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Oracle by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC now owns 4,333 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $606,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Tiller Private Wealth Inc. raised its holdings in Oracle by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. Tiller Private Wealth Inc. now owns 1,599 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $224,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cadence Bank raised its holdings in Oracle by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Cadence Bank now owns 7,440 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,040,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Stock Up 36.0%

Shares of NYSE ORCL opened at $328.40 on Thursday. Oracle Corporation has a 12-month low of $118.86 and a 12-month high of $345.72. The company has a market cap of $922.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 76.02, a P/E/G ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.07. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $242.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $188.57.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.64 by $0.06. Oracle had a return on equity of 80.42% and a net margin of 21.08%.The firm had revenue of $15.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.63 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Oracle Corporation will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, October 9th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 9th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.08%.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In other Oracle news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 3,303 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.32, for a total value of $770,655.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 31,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,337,214.04. This represents a 9.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Michael D. Sicilia sold 15,880 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.48, for a total transaction of $4,041,142.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 99,212 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,247,469.76. The trade was a 13.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 44,183 shares of company stock worth $10,353,198 in the last quarter. 42.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Oracle from $270.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. JMP Securities boosted their price target on Oracle from $315.00 to $342.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $240.00 price target (up from $200.00) on shares of Oracle in a report on Thursday, June 12th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Oracle from $250.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, CIBC restated a “buy” rating on shares of Oracle in a report on Monday, June 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $296.84.

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.