Naomi O. Seligman Sells 2,866 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Stock

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,866 shares of Oracle 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 31,764 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,749,670.92. The trade was a 8.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Oracle Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of ORCL traded down $0.21 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $150.09. The stock had a trading volume of 1,872,581 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,398,753. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $142.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $163.20. Oracle Co. has a 12-month low of $114.55 and a 12-month high of $198.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market cap of $419.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.70, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.27.

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

Oracle Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a boost from Oracle's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. Oracle's payout ratio is presently 46.95%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Oracle

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ORCL. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Oracle by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,416,362 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $411,748,000 after buying an additional 121,874 shares during the last quarter. Burkett Financial Services LLC boosted its stake in Oracle by 23.9% during the fourth quarter. Burkett Financial Services LLC now owns 1,328 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $221,000 after buying an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. grew its holdings in Oracle by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. now owns 173,290 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $28,877,000 after acquiring an additional 5,084 shares during the period. Kozak & Associates Inc. raised its position in Oracle by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 1,564 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $260,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. lifted its holdings in Oracle by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. now owns 75,417 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $12,567,000 after acquiring an additional 1,605 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Westpark Capital assumed coverage on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a "buy" rating and a $195.00 target price for the company. Stephens began coverage on shares of Oracle in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $167.00 price objective on the stock. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded shares of Oracle from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and set a $220.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada set a $145.00 target price on shares of Oracle and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently 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.