Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. Takes Position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 71,517 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock, valued at approximately $11,918,000. Oracle comprises approximately 0.9% of Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest holding.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ORCL. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter worth about $2,216,314,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter worth about $930,095,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Oracle by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 157,411,949 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $26,231,127,000 after buying an additional 2,296,069 shares during the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Oracle by 268.4% during the 4th quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 3,077,947 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $512,909,000 after buying an additional 2,242,520 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Oracle by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 19,620,534 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $3,269,566,000 after buying an additional 2,176,892 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of ORCL opened at $140.13 on Tuesday. Oracle Co. has a 52 week low of $113.65 and a 52 week high of $198.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $391.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.26, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.22. 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 fifty day moving average of $145.71 and a 200-day moving average of $164.60.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $14.13 billion for 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.41 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a positive change from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Oracle news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.77, for a total transaction of $648,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 58,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,538,339.30. This trade represents a 7.93 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.81, for a total value of $291,620.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 34,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,049,400.30. The trade was a 5.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 42.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on ORCL. UBS Group restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. DA Davidson dropped their price objective on shares of Oracle from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded shares of Oracle from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Stephens started coverage on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $167.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Oracle from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Oracle currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $174.42.

Oracle Company 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.