Oracle Corporation $ORCL Shares Sold by WealthBridge Investment Counsel Inc.

Key Points

• WealthBridge Investment Counsel cut its Oracle stake by 28.2% in Q3, selling 22,055 shares and retaining 56,200 shares valued at about $15.8 million, making Oracle roughly 4.9% of its portfolio and its third-largest holding.
• Oracle beat EPS expectations ($2.26 vs. $1.64) with revenue up 14.2% YoY to $16.06 billion (slightly under consensus), while company insiders have sold a combined 155,190 shares (~$45.3M) in the past three months.

WealthBridge Investment Counsel Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 28.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 56,200 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after selling 22,055 shares during the quarter. Oracle makes up about 4.9% of WealthBridge Investment Counsel Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. WealthBridge Investment Counsel Inc.'s holdings in Oracle were worth $15,806,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Winnow Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Oracle in the second quarter valued at $28,000. Kilter Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. LGT Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Oracle in the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, HighMark Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Oracle in the 2nd quarter valued at about $38,000. Institutional investors own 42.44% of the company's stock.

Oracle Stock Performance

NYSE:ORCL opened at $188.52 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $541.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.44, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.66. Oracle Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $118.86 and a fifty-two week high of $345.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.28, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $241.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $242.25.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.64 by $0.62. Oracle had a return on equity of 70.60% and a net margin of 25.28%.The business had revenue of $16.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.47 earnings per share. Oracle's revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Oracle Corporation will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 9th. Oracle's dividend payout ratio is 37.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In other Oracle news, EVP Stuart Levey sold 19,758 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $5,927,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 18,429 shares in the company, valued at $5,528,700. This represents a 51.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Maria Smith sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.62, for a total value of $1,403,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 47,083 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,212,431.46. This represents a 9.60% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 155,190 shares of company stock worth $45,279,001 in the last three months. Company insiders own 40.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on ORCL. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Oracle in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Oracle from $246.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 23rd. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Oracle from $368.00 to $300.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Wolfe Research increased their price objective on Oracle from $300.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. Finally, Baird R W raised shares of Oracle to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Oracle currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $302.92.

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.

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