Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT Buys 6,973 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT increased its position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 2.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 259,458 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,973 shares during the quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT’s holdings in Oracle were worth $43,236,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ORCL. Wealth Group Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Oracle in the 3rd quarter valued at $222,000. Howard Capital Management Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Oracle by 12.4% during the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 8,019 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,366,000 after buying an additional 883 shares during the last quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 43.5% in the 3rd quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. now owns 2,582 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $440,000 after buying an additional 783 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its position in shares of Oracle by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 117,127 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $19,958,000 after buying an additional 1,330 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wallington Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Oracle during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $222,000. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Oracle Stock Down 3.0 %

ORCL stock opened at $176.01 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $492.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.04, a P/E/G ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 1.05. Oracle Co. has a 52 week low of $106.51 and a 52 week high of $198.31. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $169.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $166.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The business had revenue of $14.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.34 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.91%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on 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 downgraded Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Oracle from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Oracle presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $182.73.

Insider Activity

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

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.