Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Sold by Epoch Investment Partners Inc.

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 6.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 40,368 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 2,819 shares during the period. Epoch Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $5,071,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ORCL. Contour Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Oracle by 41.5% during the fourth quarter. Contour Asset Management LLC now owns 2,192,950 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $231,203,000 after buying an additional 643,490 shares in the last quarter. Sandy Spring Bank raised its stake in shares of Oracle by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 78,049 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $8,229,000 after purchasing an additional 1,107 shares in the last quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp lifted 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 during the last quarter. Heritage Wealth Advisors grew its stake in Oracle by 0.6% in the fourth 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. Finally, Seven Mile Advisory increased its holdings in Oracle by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. Seven Mile Advisory now owns 5,236 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $552,000 after buying an additional 502 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ORCL opened at $140.01 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $135.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $123.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.25, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.71. The firm has a market cap of $385.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.47, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.02. Oracle Co. has a 1 year low of $99.26 and a 1 year high of $146.59.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 11th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.14%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 11th. Oracle’s payout ratio is 43.13%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.89, for a total transaction of $2,068,350.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 58,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,010,030.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Oracle news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.89, for a total transaction of $2,068,350.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 58,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,010,030.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director George H. Conrades sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.13, for a total transaction of $2,903,250.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 17,836 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,071,294.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,952,500 shares of company stock worth $277,298,174. 42.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Oracle from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of Oracle in a report on Thursday, April 18th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $125.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Oracle from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $145.83.

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.