Vista Investment Partners II LLC Invests $3.06 Million in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Vista Investment Partners II LLC bought a new position in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 18,348 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,057,000. Oracle accounts for about 1.8% of Vista Investment Partners II LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ORCL. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC grew 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 purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. TFC Financial Management Inc. grew its stake in Oracle by 129.0% in the fourth quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 213 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at about $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on ORCL. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $165.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Oracle from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised Oracle from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Oracle from $173.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $182.73.

Insider Activity

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 transaction of $389,448,893.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at $207,331,027.20. This represents a 65.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Trading Up 3.3 %

ORCL stock opened at $155.89 on Monday. Oracle Co. has a 1-year low of $111.18 and a 1-year high of $198.31. The firm has a market cap of $436.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.11, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. The business’s 50 day moving average is $167.63 and its 200-day moving average is $169.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $14.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.34 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.