American National Bank & Trust Trims Stock Holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

American National Bank & Trust lowered its stake in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 8.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,099 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 561 shares during the period. American National Bank & Trust’s holdings in Oracle were worth $853,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Oracle during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new position in Oracle during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Oracle in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, TFC Financial Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 129.0% in the 4th quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 213 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In related news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 17,500 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.24, for a total value of $2,646,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 58,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,785,531.60. The trade was a 23.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,866 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $4,749,670.92. This trade represents a 8.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 27,366 shares of company stock valued at $4,015,723 in the last quarter. 42.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Oracle Price Performance

Shares of Oracle stock opened at $165.03 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $144.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $161.07. Oracle Co. has a 12-month low of $117.34 and a 12-month high of $198.31. The firm has a market cap of $461.58 billion, a PE ratio of 40.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $14.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.40 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.41 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.21%. This is an increase from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. Oracle’s payout ratio is 46.95%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Oracle from $220.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $130.00 price target (down previously from $190.00) on shares of Oracle in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Westpark Capital assumed coverage on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $195.00 price objective on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on Oracle from $212.00 to $202.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $174.42.

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.