Mechanics Bank Trust Department Sells 1,902 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Mechanics Bank Trust Department lowered its position in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 2.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 73,229 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after selling 1,902 shares during the quarter. Oracle accounts for 1.4% of Mechanics Bank Trust Department's holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Mechanics Bank Trust Department's holdings in Oracle were worth $10,238,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Oracle by 201.7% in the 4th quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,599 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $266,000 after acquiring an additional 1,069 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp raised its stake in Oracle by 40.8% in the 4th quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 564,030 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $93,990,000 after acquiring an additional 163,543 shares during the period. CENTRAL TRUST Co raised its stake in Oracle by 10.8% in the 4th quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 43,851 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $7,307,000 after acquiring an additional 4,259 shares during the period. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at $12,738,000. Finally, Paul R. Ried Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at $500,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 5,000 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.77, for a total transaction of $648,850.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 58,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,538,339.30. This trade represents a 7.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,866 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.53, for a total value of $428,552.98. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 27,366 shares of company stock valued at $4,015,723. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Oracle Price Performance

NYSE:ORCL traded up $0.92 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $166.45. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,164,637 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,517,834. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $144.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $160.88. The company has a market capitalization of $465.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.70, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. Oracle Co. has a twelve month low of $117.34 and a twelve month high of $198.31.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.02). Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The firm had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.40 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.41 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.20%. This is a positive change from Oracle's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. Oracle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on ORCL shares. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Oracle from $205.00 to $175.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Westpark Capital started coverage on Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $195.00 price target on the stock. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Oracle from $200.00 to $185.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Oracle from $210.00 to $180.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, KeyCorp reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Oracle currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $174.42.

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.