Versor Investments LP Reduces Position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Versor Investments LP trimmed its holdings in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 67.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,749 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 3,669 shares during the quarter. Versor Investments LP’s holdings in Oracle were worth $298,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ORCL. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Oracle in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new stake in Oracle in the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Oracle in the second quarter valued at about $35,000. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. bought a new stake in Oracle in the first quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in Oracle in the second quarter valued at about $40,000. 42.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Oracle Stock Performance

ORCL opened at $183.71 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $509.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.72. Oracle Co. has a 1-year low of $99.26 and a 1-year high of $191.77. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $171.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $146.14.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, September 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $13.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.23 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 171.38% and a net margin of 20.40%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.95 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.87%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.24%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In other Oracle news, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 42,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,076,685. This represents a 12.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 42.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on ORCL shares. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Oracle from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Royal Bank of Canada started coverage on Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $165.00 target price for the company. Melius upgraded Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Oracle from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Oracle has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $169.52.

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.