Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Purchased by Atalanta Sosnoff Capital LLC

Atalanta Sosnoff Capital LLC boosted its stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 57.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 234,230 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 85,694 shares during the quarter. Atalanta Sosnoff Capital LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $39,032,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ORCL. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Oracle during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Oracle by 89.7% during the fourth quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 184 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Oracle during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, TFC Financial Management Inc. grew its position in Oracle by 129.0% in the fourth quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 213 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Stock Up 3.6 %

ORCL opened at $150.77 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $421.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.86, 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 firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $143.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $163.90. Oracle Co. has a twelve month low of $114.55 and a twelve month high of $198.31.

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

Oracle Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. This is a boost from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ORCL has been the subject of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Oracle from $205.00 to $175.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded shares of Oracle from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Oracle from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Oracle from $210.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Oracle has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $174.42.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In related news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 11th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $7,538,339.30. The trade was a 7.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.81, for a total transaction of $291,620.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 34,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,049,400.30. This represents a 5.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.