Perritt Capital Management Inc Decreases Stock Holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Perritt Capital Management Inc lessened its position in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 10.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,325 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 836 shares during the period. Perritt Capital Management Inc’s holdings in Oracle were worth $1,034,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ORCL. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Oracle by 223.9% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,067,682 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $150,757,000 after buying an additional 738,085 shares in the last quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. grew its stake in Oracle by 2.7% during the second quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 31,304 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $4,420,000 after acquiring an additional 832 shares in the last quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. increased its holdings in Oracle by 145.3% during the 2nd quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 12,834 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,812,000 after acquiring an additional 7,601 shares during the period. SP Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Oracle by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. SP Asset Management LLC now owns 109,028 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $15,395,000 after purchasing an additional 686 shares in the last quarter. Finally, STAR Financial Bank bought a new position in Oracle in the 2nd quarter valued at $249,000. Institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Chairman Lawrence Joseph Ellison sold 1,125,000 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.69, for a total transaction of $161,651,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 1,145,732,353 shares in the company, valued at $164,630,281,802.57. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Oracle news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $8,010,030.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Lawrence Joseph Ellison sold 1,125,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.69, for a total transaction 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. Insiders have sold 1,862,500 shares of company stock valued at $266,776,624 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 42.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on ORCL shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Oracle from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays raised their price target on Oracle from $160.00 to $172.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on Oracle from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Oracle from $110.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Monday. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Oracle presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $158.68.

Oracle Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ORCL opened at $157.13 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.25. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $139.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $129.32. The company has a market cap of $433.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.01. Oracle Co. has a 12 month low of $99.26 and a 12 month high of $160.52.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its earnings results on Monday, September 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.06. Oracle had a net margin of 19.76% and a return on equity of 223.01%. The firm had revenue of $13.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.23 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.95 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5.02 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.02%. Oracle’s payout ratio is 43.13%.

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.