Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Position Lifted by Avitas Wealth Management LLC

Avitas Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 0.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 16,401 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. Avitas Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $2,733,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Oracle in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Oracle by 89.7% in the fourth quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 184 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the period. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Oracle during the third quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. Finally, Avondale Wealth Management acquired a new position in Oracle during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Stock Performance

Oracle stock opened at $167.98 on Wednesday. Oracle Co. has a fifty-two week low of $106.51 and a fifty-two week high of $198.31. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $171.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $163.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The company has a market cap of $469.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 1.05.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its earnings results on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.48 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $14.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.12 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. Oracle’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.34 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.95%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.12%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.35, for a total value of $389,448,893.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,331,027.20. This represents a 65.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 42.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ORCL has been the topic of several analyst reports. Guggenheim increased their target price on Oracle from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Oracle from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Oracle from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on Oracle in a research note on Friday, January 17th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $214.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Oracle currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $182.73.

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.