First Financial Bank Trust Division Decreases Holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

First Financial Bank Trust Division lessened its stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 0.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 40,430 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 188 shares during the quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division’s holdings in Oracle were worth $4,815,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ORCL. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Oracle in the 4th quarter worth about $1,409,896,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Oracle by 112,785.9% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,832,530 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $885,451,000 after purchasing an additional 10,822,934 shares in the last quarter. Harris Associates L P increased its holdings in Oracle by 31.3% in the fourth quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 19,160,481 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,566,178,000 after buying an additional 4,570,472 shares during the last quarter. Putnam Investments LLC raised its stake in Oracle by 50.0% during the first quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 10,989,627 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,021,156,000 after buying an additional 3,664,269 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Neuberger Berman Group LLC grew its position in shares of Oracle by 89.8% in the 4th quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 6,929,363 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $565,961,000 after acquiring an additional 3,277,738 shares in the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Maria Smith sold 3,680 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.00, for a total value of $423,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,600 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,909,000. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director Michael J. Boskin sold 90,000 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.83, for a total transaction of $10,694,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 87,473 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,394,416.59. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Maria Smith sold 3,680 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.00, for a total value of $423,200.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,600 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,909,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,170,577 shares of company stock worth $510,048,838 in the last three months. 43.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Oracle Price Performance

Shares of Oracle stock opened at $111.84 on Thursday. Oracle Co. has a 52 week low of $60.78 and a 52 week high of $127.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 55.54. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $117.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $105.85. The stock has a market cap of $303.56 billion, a PE ratio of 36.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 1.00.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its earnings results on Monday, September 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $12.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.48 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 17.02% and a negative return on equity of 470.73%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.81 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 4.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 11th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.29%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of Oracle from $120.00 to $150.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 13th. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Oracle from $116.00 to $150.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 13th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Oracle from $125.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday. DZ Bank raised Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $125.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Oracle from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 7th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $122.22.

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.