Vestor Capital LLC Has $21.70 Million Stock Position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Vestor Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 45.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 130,227 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 40,676 shares during the quarter. Oracle makes up approximately 1.7% of Vestor Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. Vestor Capital LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $21,701,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in 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 acquiring an additional 121,874 shares in the last quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. raised its position in Oracle by 201.7% during the fourth quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,599 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $266,000 after acquiring an additional 1,069 shares in the last quarter. RMR Wealth Builders raised its position in Oracle by 383.4% during the fourth quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 7,155 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,192,000 after acquiring an additional 5,675 shares in the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Oracle by 24.8% in the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 164,593 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $27,428,000 after purchasing an additional 32,718 shares during the period. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,800,000. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Oracle from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $150.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Oracle from $194.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Stephens began coverage on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $167.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Oracle from $200.00 to $185.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.20.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In other Oracle news, CEO Safra Catz sold 345,174 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.56, for a total transaction of $64,050,487.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,565,931.52. The trade was a 23.58 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Oracle Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:ORCL opened at $152.83 on Friday. Oracle Co. has a 52 week low of $112.78 and a 52 week high of $198.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The company’s fifty day moving average is $164.87 and its 200-day moving average is $169.85. The company has a market capitalization of $427.45 billion, a PE ratio of 37.37, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.02). Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The business had revenue of $14.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.40 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.41 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.31%. This is a boost from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Oracle’s payout ratio is currently 46.95%.

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.