First Financial Bank Trust Division Reduces Stock Holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

First Financial Bank Trust Division lessened its stake in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 34,530 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 216 shares during the period. First Financial Bank Trust Division’s holdings in Oracle were worth $5,754,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ORCL. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Oracle by 5.3% during 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 buying an additional 121,874 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 3,300 shares during the last quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp purchased a new stake in Oracle in the third quarter worth $4,160,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Oracle by 79.6% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 286,460 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $48,813,000 after purchasing an additional 126,985 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC boosted its stake in shares of Oracle by 84.5% during the third quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 863,883 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $147,206,000 after purchasing an additional 395,613 shares during the period. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Melius Research upgraded shares of Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Oracle from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Oracle from $173.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on Oracle from $201.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $181.48.

Oracle Stock Performance

NYSE:ORCL traded down $0.61 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $166.03. The company had a trading volume of 4,872,848 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,338,902. The firm has a market cap of $464.38 billion, a PE ratio of 40.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.03. Oracle Co. has a 1-year low of $101.74 and a 1-year high of $198.31. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $178.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $159.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by ($0.01). Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The firm had revenue of $14.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.12 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.34 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5.03 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 23rd will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.96%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.12%.

Oracle Company 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.