Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Position Boosted by Arthur M. Cohen & Associates LLC

Arthur M. Cohen & Associates LLC increased its position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 15.5% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 10,300 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,385 shares during the quarter. Arthur M. Cohen & Associates LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $1,440,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ORCL. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its stake in Oracle by 0.8% during the first quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 37,095 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $5,186,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares during the last quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 967.0% during the first quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. now owns 62,453 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $8,732,000 after purchasing an additional 56,600 shares during the period. Lake Street Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Oracle by 21.0% in the 1st quarter. Lake Street Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,544 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $216,000 after buying an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC now owns 54,618 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $7,636,000 after buying an additional 2,875 shares during the period. Finally, HF Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 16.4% in the 1st quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC now owns 17,579 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $2,458,000 after buying an additional 2,475 shares during the period. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Oracle Trading Down 0.6%

Oracle stock opened at $168.17 on Thursday. Oracle Co. has a 12-month low of $118.86 and a 12-month high of $198.31. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $470.36 billion, a PE ratio of 41.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.32. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $145.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $160.87.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.02). Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The firm had revenue of $14.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.41 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect 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 issued 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. Oracle’s payout ratio is presently 46.95%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on ORCL. Stephens initiated coverage on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $167.00 price objective on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Oracle from $205.00 to $175.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. DA Davidson lowered their price objective on Oracle from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada set a $145.00 target price on Oracle and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Fourteen research 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $174.42.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Oracle news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.81, for a total value of $291,620.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 34,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,049,400.30. The trade was a 5.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.77, for a total value of $648,850.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 58,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,538,339.30. This trade represents a 7.93% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 27,366 shares of company stock worth $4,015,723. 42.20% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.