Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Buys 3,153 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 50.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,355 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,153 shares during the period. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $1,308,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter worth about $2,216,314,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter worth about $930,095,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Oracle by 15,012.3% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,755,096 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $664,810,000 after purchasing an additional 4,723,631 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in shares of Oracle by 20.5% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 13,825,360 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $2,303,858,000 after purchasing an additional 2,350,448 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Oracle by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 157,411,949 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $26,231,127,000 after purchasing an additional 2,296,069 shares during the period. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Oracle Stock Up 13.2%

Shares of ORCL opened at $199.67 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $558.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.82, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. Oracle Co. has a one year low of $118.86 and a one year high of $202.49. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $151.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $160.44.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.64 by $0.06. Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The firm had revenue of $15.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.63 EPS. Oracle’s revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Oracle news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.77, for a total transaction of $648,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 58,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,538,339.30. The trade was a 7.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,866 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.53, for a total transaction of $428,552.98. Following the sale, the director now owns 31,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,749,670.92. The trade was a 8.28% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 27,366 shares of company stock worth $4,015,723 in the last quarter. Insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ORCL. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Oracle from $200.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Oracle from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday. CIBC restated a “buy” rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Monday. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded Oracle from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Westpark Capital boosted their price target on Oracle from $195.00 to $246.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $192.30.

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.