Ashton Thomas Securities LLC Acquires 942 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Ashton Thomas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 31,574 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 942 shares during the quarter. Oracle accounts for about 1.4% of Ashton Thomas Securities LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $5,264,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Second Line Capital LLC boosted its position in Oracle by 1.5% during the third quarter. Second Line Capital LLC now owns 3,816 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $650,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. Cadence Bank boosted its holdings in Oracle by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Cadence Bank now owns 7,605 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,296,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. Requisite Capital Management LLC grew its position in Oracle by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Requisite Capital Management LLC now owns 2,240 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $373,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. increased its stake in Oracle by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. now owns 1,423 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $237,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Finally, McLean Asset Management Corp boosted its stake in shares of Oracle by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 5,447 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $908,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Trading Up 1.8 %

Oracle stock opened at $154.98 on Tuesday. Oracle Co. has a 12 month low of $112.78 and a 12 month high of $198.31. The company has a market capitalization of $433.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $164.89 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $170.36. 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 announced 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). The firm had revenue of $14.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.40 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.41 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.29%. This is an increase from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ORCL has been the topic of several analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Oracle from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Oracle from $212.00 to $202.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Oracle from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Oracle from $210.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Oracle from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.20.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,331,027.20. This trade represents a 65.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.