Ledyard National Bank Reduces Stock Holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Ledyard National Bank reduced its stake in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 10.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 89,047 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 9,914 shares during the quarter. Oracle makes up about 1.4% of Ledyard National Bank’s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Ledyard National Bank’s holdings in Oracle were worth $14,839,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ORCL. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Oracle during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Oracle by 89.7% in the 4th quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 184 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Oracle during the 3rd quarter valued at about $44,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Oracle during the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. Finally, Avondale Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Oracle in the third quarter worth about $51,000. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.35, for a total transaction of $389,448,893.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,331,027.20. The trade was a 65.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ORCL. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. StockNews.com upgraded Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 1st. Guggenheim increased their target price on Oracle from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $182.73.

Oracle Stock Performance

ORCL opened at $172.53 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $170.83 and its 200 day moving average is $164.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. The company has a market cap of $482.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.18, a PEG ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 1.05. Oracle Co. has a 12-month low of $106.51 and a 12-month high of $198.31.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.48 by ($0.01). Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The business had revenue of $14.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.34 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.12%.

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.