Davis Capital Management Reduces Position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Davis Capital Management lessened its stake in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,431 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 191 shares during the period. Oracle makes up about 1.1% of Davis Capital Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Davis Capital Management’s holdings in Oracle were worth $1,437,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Oracle during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Westend Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Oracle during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in Oracle during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Oracle during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Oracle during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Edward Screven sold 426,861 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.91, for a total value of $60,575,844.51. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 2,626,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $372,764,079.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Oracle news, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total value of $1,042,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 42,889 shares in the company, valued at $7,076,685. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Edward Screven sold 426,861 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.91, for a total value of $60,575,844.51. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,626,764 shares in the company, valued at approximately $372,764,079.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,573,181 shares of company stock worth $225,338,245 over the last three months. Insiders own 42.80% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Stock Performance

NYSE:ORCL opened at $167.73 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.72. The company has a fifty day moving average of $146.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $134.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $464.79 billion, a PE ratio of 45.21, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.01. Oracle Co. has a fifty-two week low of $99.26 and a fifty-two week high of $173.99.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, September 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $13.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.23 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 20.40% and a return on equity of 171.38%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.95 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The firm 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.13%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ORCL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Melius raised shares of Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Oracle from $160.00 to $172.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on shares of Oracle from $201.00 to $202.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Oracle from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Oracle from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Oracle presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $167.42.

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.