Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Stock Holdings Lessened by Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc.

Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. lessened its stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 2.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 175,558 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 4,151 shares during the quarter. Oracle makes up about 1.9% of Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $29,255,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Oracle by 89.7% in the 4th quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 184 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Oracle during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. TFC Financial Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 129.0% during 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. 42.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 345,174 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.56, for a total value of $64,050,487.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $207,565,931.52. This represents a 23.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Oracle Trading Up 0.2 %

ORCL opened at $152.78 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $164.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $169.77. 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 $112.78 and a 12 month high of $198.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $427.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.35, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.40 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.41 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect 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 will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a boost from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Oracle’s payout ratio is 46.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on ORCL shares. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Oracle from $200.00 to $185.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Oracle from $210.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Barclays dropped 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, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Oracle from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Oracle has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $179.20.

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.