Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Sold by Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 0.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 228,270 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 1,411 shares during the quarter. Oracle makes up approximately 1.1% of Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 18th largest position. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $32,232,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ORCL. Westend Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Oracle during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Tidemark LLC acquired a new position in Oracle during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Nordwand Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Oracle during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Oracle during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Finally, POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new position in Oracle during the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of Oracle stock traded down $0.31 on Friday, reaching $142.30. 317,184 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,993,707. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $138.70 and a 200-day moving average price of $128.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $392.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.25. Oracle Co. has a fifty-two week low of $99.26 and a fifty-two week high of $146.59.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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). The business had revenue of $14.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.57 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 19.76% and a return on equity of 223.01%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.35 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5.02 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 11th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.12%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 11th. Oracle’s payout ratio is 43.13%.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In related news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 15,000 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 58,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,010,030.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 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 value of $2,068,350.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 58,090 shares in the company, valued at $8,010,030.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Lawrence Joseph Ellison sold 1,125,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.69, for a total value of $161,651,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,145,732,353 shares in the company, valued at approximately $164,630,281,802.57. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,862,500 shares of company stock valued at $266,776,624. Company insiders own 42.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ORCL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $175.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Oracle from $142.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Citigroup reduced their price target on Oracle from $133.00 to $128.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Oracle from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Oracle currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $145.83.

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.