Kentucky Retirement Systems Has $18.98 Million Holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Kentucky Retirement Systems decreased its stake in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 7.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 111,353 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 8,775 shares during the period. Oracle accounts for about 0.6% of Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings, making the stock its 26th largest position. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Oracle were worth $18,975,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ORCL. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Oracle by 5.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,416,362 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $411,748,000 after acquiring an additional 121,874 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Oracle by 15.3% in the 2nd quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 24,800 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $3,502,000 after purchasing an additional 3,300 shares in the last quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp bought a new stake in Oracle during the third quarter worth about $4,160,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Oracle by 79.6% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 286,460 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $48,813,000 after purchasing an additional 126,985 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Buckley Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 63.8% in the third quarter. Buckley Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,370 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,256,000 after buying an additional 2,870 shares during the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ORCL has been the topic of several research reports. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Oracle from $150.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Oracle from $160.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Royal Bank of Canada started coverage on Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $165.00 target price for the company. KeyCorp boosted their price target on Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Oracle from $105.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $169.52.

Oracle Stock Down 1.8 %

ORCL stock opened at $183.71 on Friday. Oracle Co. has a 52 week low of $99.26 and a 52 week high of $191.77. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $172.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $146.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68. The company has a market cap of $509.07 billion, a PE ratio of 47.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 1.02.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its earnings results on Monday, September 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.06. Oracle had a return on equity of 171.38% and a net margin of 20.40%. The firm had revenue of $13.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.95 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.87%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.24%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total value of $1,042,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 42,889 shares in the company, valued at $7,076,685. This represents a 12.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

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.