15,381 Shares in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Purchased by Sciencast Management LP

Sciencast Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 15,381 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,932,000. Oracle accounts for about 1.2% of Sciencast Management LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Contour Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 41.5% in the 4th quarter. Contour Asset Management LLC now owns 2,192,950 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $231,203,000 after buying an additional 643,490 shares in the last quarter. Sandy Spring Bank boosted its stake in Oracle by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 78,049 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $8,229,000 after acquiring an additional 1,107 shares in the last quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp increased its position in shares of Oracle by 12.7% during the fourth quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 29,301 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $3,089,000 after purchasing an additional 3,291 shares in the last quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI now owns 5,986 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $631,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Heritage Wealth Advisors boosted its position in shares of Oracle by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Heritage Wealth Advisors now owns 16,995 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,792,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on ORCL shares. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Oracle from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 6th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Oracle in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Oracle from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on Oracle from $144.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $145.83.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Edward Screven sold 426,861 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.91, for a total transaction of $60,575,844.51. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,626,764 shares in the company, valued at approximately $372,764,079.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Oracle news, insider Edward Screven sold 426,861 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.91, for a total transaction of $60,575,844.51. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 2,626,764 shares in the company, valued at approximately $372,764,079.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Jeffrey Berg sold 22,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.12, for a total transaction of $3,220,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 210,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,157,101.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 812,500 shares of company stock worth $113,578,574 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 42.80% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Price Performance

ORCL traded up $2.01 on Friday, hitting $144.77. 7,358,731 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,609,288. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $130.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $120.70. The stock has a market cap of $398.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.25. Oracle Co. has a fifty-two week low of $99.26 and a fifty-two week high of $145.79.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.65 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $14.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.57 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 19.76% and a return on equity of 223.01%. The firm’s revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.35 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 11th will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 11th. Oracle’s payout ratio is 43.13%.

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.