Sepio Capital LP Reduces Holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Sepio Capital LP reduced its position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 0.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 42,593 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 224 shares during the period. Sepio Capital LP’s holdings in Oracle were worth $6,014,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Brio Consultants LLC grew its position in shares of Oracle by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Brio Consultants LLC now owns 2,942 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $310,000 after buying an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Precision Wealth Strategies LLC grew its holdings in Oracle by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Precision Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 3,951 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $417,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Oracle in the 4th quarter worth about $359,000. Aveo Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at about $290,000. Finally, 9258 Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Oracle by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 90,285 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $9,519,000 after purchasing an additional 560 shares during the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on ORCL shares. StockNews.com upgraded Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Mizuho upped their price target on Oracle from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Oracle from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of Oracle from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Oracle from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $166.13.

Oracle Trading Up 0.3 %

Oracle stock opened at $168.67 on Friday. Oracle Co. has a 1 year low of $99.26 and a 1 year high of $173.99. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $144.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $133.69. The firm has a market cap of $464.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.72.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its earnings results on Monday, September 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $13.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.23 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 171.38% and a net margin of 20.40%. Oracle’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.95 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.13%.

Insider Activity

In other Oracle news, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total transaction of $1,042,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 42,889 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,076,685. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now directly owns 58,090 shares in the company, valued at $8,010,030.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total transaction of $1,042,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 42,889 shares in the company, valued at $7,076,685. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,573,181 shares of company stock worth $225,338,245 over the last 90 days. 42.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.