Smartleaf Asset Management LLC Raises Stock Position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 8.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 18,840 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,410 shares during the quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $3,145,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 89.7% during the 4th quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 184 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 129.0% during the 4th quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 213 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter valued at about $47,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 21.9% during the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 312 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of Oracle from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Oracle from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Oracle from $157.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $182.73.

Oracle Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ORCL opened at $166.09 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $464.55 billion, a PE ratio of 40.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.05. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $168.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $168.60. Oracle Co. has a one year low of $110.36 and a one year high of $198.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its earnings results on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $14.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.12 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The business’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.34 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. Oracle’s payout ratio is 39.12%.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.35, for a total transaction of $389,448,893.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $207,331,027.20. This trade represents a 65.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.