Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Bought by Rafferty Asset Management LLC

Rafferty Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 0.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 556,326 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,970 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $92,706,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Requisite Capital Management LLC grew its holdings 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 valued at $373,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. grew its holdings in Oracle by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. now owns 1,423 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $237,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp grew its holdings in Oracle by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 5,447 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $908,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Warther Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Oracle by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Warther Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,621 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $603,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Howard Bailey Securities LLC grew its holdings in Oracle by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Howard Bailey Securities LLC now owns 2,274 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $379,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In related news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 17,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 58,090 shares in the company, valued at $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. Insiders have sold a total of 27,366 shares of company stock valued at $4,015,723 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on ORCL. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded shares of Oracle from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price target on shares of Oracle from $214.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Oracle from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $130.00 price target (down from $190.00) on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Stephens began coverage on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $167.00 price target on the stock. 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Oracle currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $174.42.

Oracle Stock Up 0.1%

NYSE ORCL opened at $162.44 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $142.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $162.75. The company has a market capitalization of $454.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.72, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. Oracle Co. has a 12 month low of $114.55 and a 12 month high of $198.31.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $14.13 billion during 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%. The business’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.41 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were given a $0.50 dividend. This is an increase from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.95%.

About Oracle

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.