Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. Buys 3,148 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 1.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 230,996 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after acquiring an additional 3,148 shares during the quarter. Oracle comprises approximately 1.0% of Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.'s holdings in Oracle were worth $32,296,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ORCL. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Oracle by 1.5% during 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 in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Oracle by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 38,002,902 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $6,332,803,000 after purchasing an additional 156,269 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Oracle by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,814,302 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $5,954,961,000 after purchasing an additional 619,619 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Oracle by 9.3% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 20,202,421 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $3,366,531,000 after purchasing an additional 1,722,037 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Oracle by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 19,620,534 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $3,269,566,000 after acquiring an additional 2,176,892 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 42.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,866 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.53, for a total transaction of $428,552.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 31,764 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,749,670.92. This trade represents a 8.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Vice Chairman Jeffrey Henley sold 400,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.42, for a total value of $76,168,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,097,576 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $209,000,421.92. This trade represents a 26.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 427,366 shares of company stock valued at $80,183,723 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 42.20% of the company's stock.

Oracle Trading Up 7.8%

Shares of NYSE:ORCL traded up $15.68 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $215.54. 53,639,099 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,721,350. The stock has a market capitalization of $602.86 billion, a PE ratio of 52.70, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.32. The business's 50 day moving average is $152.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $160.46. 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 one year low of $118.86 and a one year high of $216.60.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.64 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $15.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.58 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.63 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. Oracle's payout ratio is currently 46.08%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ORCL has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Oracle from $202.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Oracle from $180.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday. JMP Securities upped their target price on shares of Oracle from $205.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded shares of Oracle from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated a "positive" rating on shares of Oracle in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $194.32.

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.