Abacus Planning Group Inc. Buys 378 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Abacus Planning Group Inc. increased its stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 4.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 9,863 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 378 shares during the quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $1,644,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Oracle during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Oracle by 89.7% during 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. TFC Financial Management Inc. raised its holdings in Oracle by 129.0% during the fourth quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 213 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Oracle during the third quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Oracle during the fourth quarter valued at about $47,000. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Oracle Trading Up 1.0 %

ORCL opened at $181.51 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $507.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.38, a P/E/G ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 1.05. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $169.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $166.67. Oracle Co. has a one year low of $106.51 and a one year 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.

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 return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The firm had revenue of $14.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.12 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.34 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.88%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.12%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ORCL. BNP Paribas raised Oracle to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on Oracle in a report on Friday, January 17th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $214.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group lifted their target price on Oracle from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Oracle from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Oracle currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $182.73.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was 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 owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $207,331,027.20. This represents a 65.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 42.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.