Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC Purchases 5,015 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC boosted its position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 30.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 21,386 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,015 shares during the period. Oracle makes up approximately 1.3% of Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $3,564,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Entropy Technologies LP bought a new stake in Oracle during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,304,000. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in Oracle by 22.1% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 91,630 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $15,269,000 after purchasing an additional 16,592 shares in the last quarter. Forbes J M & Co. LLP increased its holdings in Oracle by 43.7% during the 4th quarter. Forbes J M & Co. LLP now owns 3,102 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $517,000 after purchasing an additional 944 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its holdings in Oracle by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 163,402 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $27,229,000 after purchasing an additional 13,275 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Apollon Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Oracle by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 64,020 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $10,668,000 after purchasing an additional 2,305 shares in the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 345,174 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.56, for a total value of $64,050,487.44. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $207,565,931.52. This represents a 23.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 42.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ORCL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on Oracle in a research note on Friday, January 17th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $214.00 target price on the stock. Monness Crespi & Hardt downgraded Oracle from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $130.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Friday, December 20th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Oracle from $173.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on Oracle from $157.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Oracle currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $182.73.

Oracle Trading Up 1.3 %

Oracle stock opened at $174.53 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $488.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.67, a PEG ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.05. Oracle Co. has a fifty-two week low of $106.51 and a fifty-two week high of $198.31. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $170.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $164.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its earnings results 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). The firm had revenue of $14.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.12 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.34 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 23rd were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.92%. 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.