Focus Partners Wealth Increases Stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Focus Partners Wealth grew its stake in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 10.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 317,096 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after buying an additional 30,091 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth’s holdings in Oracle were worth $54,368,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ORCL. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Oracle by 201.7% in the fourth quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,599 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $266,000 after purchasing an additional 1,069 shares in the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Oracle by 24.8% during 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 last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Oracle in the 4th quarter worth $1,800,000. Boston Trust Walden Corp raised its position in shares of Oracle by 40.8% during the 4th quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 564,030 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $93,990,000 after buying an additional 163,543 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avanza Fonder AB bought a new position in shares of Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at about $20,346,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Trading Down 0.1 %

Oracle stock opened at $150.18 on Friday. 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 stock has a market cap of $420.05 billion, a PE ratio of 36.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.27. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $142.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $162.95. Oracle Co. has a one year low of $114.55 and a one year high of $198.31.

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

Oracle Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This is a positive change from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.33%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In related news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.81, for a total transaction of $291,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 34,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,049,400.30. This trade represents a 5.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 17,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.24, for a total transaction of $2,646,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 58,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,785,531.60. The trade was a 23.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 27,366 shares of company stock worth $4,015,723. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on ORCL. StockNews.com cut Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their price target on Oracle from $214.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Oracle from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Royal Bank of Canada set a $145.00 price target on shares of Oracle and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Westpark Capital began coverage on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $195.00 price objective for the company. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $174.42.

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.