Insider Selling: Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Director Sells 45,000 Shares of Stock

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Director Michael J. Boskin sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.74, for a total value of $5,298,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 87,473 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,299,071.02. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Oracle Price Performance

NYSE ORCL opened at $117.39 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $322.65 billion, a PE ratio of 30.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.34. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $120.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $113.57. Oracle Co. has a 52 week low of $96.10 and a 52 week high of $132.77.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $13.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.29 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 20.27% and a return on equity of 336.11%. Oracle’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.96 EPS. Research analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 24th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.36%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on ORCL shares. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Oracle from $126.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 12th. KeyCorp started coverage on shares of Oracle in a report on Thursday, March 21st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $150.00 target price on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Oracle from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Argus raised Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, William Blair upgraded Oracle from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 12th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Oracle currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $130.76.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Oracle during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Westend Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Oracle in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE grew its position in shares of Oracle by 298.4% during the 3rd quarter. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE now owns 243 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Oracle in the third quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Tidemark LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

About Oracle

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.