Ledyard National Bank Cuts Holdings in Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL)

Ledyard National Bank reduced its position in shares of Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 4.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 85,027 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after selling 4,020 shares during the period. Oracle comprises approximately 1.2% of Ledyard National Bank's portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Ledyard National Bank's holdings in Oracle were worth $11,888,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. increased its position in Oracle by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. now owns 1,423 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $237,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Cape ANN Savings Bank lifted its holdings in Oracle by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Cape ANN Savings Bank now owns 5,820 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $970,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Greenwood Gearhart Inc. boosted its position in Oracle by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Greenwood Gearhart Inc. now owns 5,731 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $955,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. WorthPointe LLC grew its holdings in Oracle by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. WorthPointe LLC now owns 1,734 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $289,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the period. Finally, CORDA Investment Management LLC. lifted its stake in shares of Oracle by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. CORDA Investment Management LLC. now owns 7,966 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $1,328,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ORCL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Oracle from $150.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their target price on Oracle from $214.00 to $175.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $240.00 price objective (up from $200.00) on shares of Oracle in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Oracle from $135.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $196.74.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 5,000 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.77, for a total value of $648,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 58,090 shares in the company, valued at $7,538,339.30. The trade was a 7.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.81, for a total value of $291,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 34,630 shares in the company, valued at $5,049,400.30. This trade represents a 5.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 442,366 shares of company stock valued at $83,395,223 in the last quarter. Insiders own 42.20% of the company's stock.

Oracle Price Performance

Shares of ORCL stock traded up $8.35 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $215.39. 18,331,036 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,888,668. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $161.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $161.26. Oracle Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $118.86 and a fifty-two week high of $216.60. The firm has a market cap of $604.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.63, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.07.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.64 by $0.06. Oracle had a net margin of 21.68% and a return on equity of 87.34%. The firm had revenue of $15.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.58 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.63 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Oracle Corporation will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

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

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.