Ballentine Partners LLC Purchases 1,346 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Ballentine Partners LLC raised its holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 30,892 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,346 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $4,362,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 151,213,890 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $18,993,977,000 after acquiring an additional 1,514,569 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in shares of Oracle by 0.4% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 18,466,713 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $2,319,604,000 after purchasing an additional 82,551 shares during the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Oracle by 17.7% in the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 14,599,902 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,539,268,000 after buying an additional 2,191,342 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 148.8% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 12,872,300 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,616,855,000 after buying an additional 7,699,141 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Putnam Investments LLC lifted its position in Oracle by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 12,339,385 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,300,941,000 after buying an additional 697,961 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Edward Screven sold 235,918 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.30, for a total transaction of $34,042,967.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,626,764 shares in the company, valued at $379,042,045.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, insider Edward Screven sold 235,918 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.30, for a total value of $34,042,967.40. Following the sale, the insider now owns 2,626,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $379,042,045.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.89, for a total transaction of $2,068,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 58,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,010,030.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,862,500 shares of company stock worth $266,776,624 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 42.80% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of ORCL traded down $0.80 on Friday, hitting $141.81. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 11,154,796 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,056,655. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $390.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.01. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $138.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $128.47. Oracle Co. has a fifty-two week low of $99.26 and a fifty-two week high of $146.59.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.65 by ($0.02). Oracle had a net margin of 19.76% and a return on equity of 223.01%. The company had revenue of $14.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.57 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.35 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5.02 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 11th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 11th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is 43.13%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on ORCL shares. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $150.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Mizuho increased their price objective on Oracle from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $125.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. KeyCorp raised their price target on Oracle from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Oracle from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $145.87.

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.