ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. Trims Stock Position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. reduced its holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 523,144 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after selling 7,086 shares during the quarter. Oracle accounts for about 3.6% of ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.'s holdings in Oracle were worth $89,144,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Westend Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Oracle in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Oracle during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Oracle during the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Oracle during the 2nd quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Alaska Permanent Fund Corp bought a new position in shares of Oracle in the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ORCL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Oracle from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Melius upgraded shares of Oracle from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $210.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Oracle from $140.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Oppenheimer reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Oracle from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $167.42.

Oracle Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ORCL traded up $0.86 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $175.63. The company had a trading volume of 5,464,804 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,477,604. Oracle Co. has a one year low of $99.26 and a one year high of $178.61. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $154.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $137.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.72. The firm has a market cap of $484.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.27, a PEG ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 1.01.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, September 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.06. Oracle had a net margin of 20.40% and a return on equity of 171.38%. The business had revenue of $13.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.95 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.91%. Oracle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.13%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $7,076,685. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 42.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.