Novem Group Makes New Investment in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Novem Group purchased a new position in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 2,939 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock, valued at approximately $490,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Taylor Hoffman Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Oracle by 13.1% during the 4th quarter. Taylor Hoffman Capital Management LLC now owns 2,412 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $402,000 after purchasing an additional 280 shares during the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp raised its holdings in Oracle by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 518,716 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $86,439,000 after purchasing an additional 20,761 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC raised its holdings in Oracle by 44.0% during the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 45,756 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $7,625,000 after purchasing an additional 13,983 shares during the last quarter. First Heartland Consultants Inc. raised its holdings in Oracle by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. First Heartland Consultants Inc. now owns 1,762 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $294,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kolinsky Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Oracle by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Kolinsky Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,898 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $483,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Price Performance

ORCL opened at $157.27 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The company has a market capitalization of $439.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.45, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.27. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $143.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $162.24. Oracle Co. has a 1 year low of $114.55 and a 1 year high of $198.31.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.40 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. Oracle’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.41 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.27%. This is an increase from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. Oracle’s payout ratio is currently 46.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ORCL. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Oracle from $194.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Oracle from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Oracle from $220.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 31st. 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. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Oracle from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Oracle has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $174.42.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,866 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.53, for a total value of $428,552.98. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 31,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,749,670.92. The trade was a 8.28% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 5,000 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 58,090 shares in the company, valued at $7,538,339.30. This trade represents a 7.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 27,366 shares of company stock valued at $4,015,723 in the last three months. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.