Bard Financial Services Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Bard Financial Services Inc. decreased its position in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 58.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 27,250 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 38,330 shares during the quarter. Bard Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $4,643,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ORCL. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Oracle by 11.7% in the second quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 16,013 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $2,261,000 after purchasing an additional 1,678 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Oracle by 624.0% in the second quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 6,719 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $961,000 after purchasing an additional 5,791 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its holdings in Oracle by 10.6% in the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 139,571 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $19,707,000 after purchasing an additional 13,412 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Oracle by 2.8% in the second quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,952 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $558,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the period. Finally, Oak Ridge Investments LLC bought a new position in Oracle in the second quarter worth approximately $235,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total transaction of $1,042,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 42,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,076,685. The trade was a 12.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 42.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on ORCL. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Oracle from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Melius Research upgraded shares of Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Oracle from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Oracle from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Oracle currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.48.

Oracle Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ORCL opened at $178.88 on Wednesday. Oracle Co. has a 52 week low of $99.26 and a 52 week high of $198.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $495.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.81, a PEG ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 1.03. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $179.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $154.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by ($0.01). Oracle had a return on equity of 171.38% and a net margin of 20.40%. The business had revenue of $14.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.34 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 9th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.89%. Oracle’s payout ratio is currently 41.24%.

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.