Strive Asset Management LLC Makes New Investment in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Strive Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 6,909 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,151,000. Oracle comprises 0.9% of Strive Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest position.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ORCL. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Oracle by 25.4% in the fourth quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,311 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,552,000 after purchasing an additional 1,884 shares during the last quarter. Certified Advisory Corp grew its position in shares of Oracle by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Certified Advisory Corp now owns 4,600 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $767,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Oracle by 32.3% in the fourth quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC now owns 15,413 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $2,568,000 after purchasing an additional 3,761 shares during the last quarter. Capital & Planning LLC grew its position in Oracle by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Capital & Planning LLC now owns 15,727 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $2,621,000 after buying an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Common Asset Management LLC grew its position in Oracle by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Boston Common Asset Management LLC now owns 24,716 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $4,119,000 after buying an additional 386 shares in the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In other Oracle news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.77, for a total value of $648,850.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 58,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,538,339.30. This represents a 7.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 34,630 shares in the company, valued at $5,049,400.30. This represents a 5.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 27,366 shares of company stock worth $4,015,723. Insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ORCL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their target price on Oracle from $214.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Oracle from $220.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 31st. 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. Citigroup decreased their target price on Oracle from $194.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. 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.com, Oracle currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $174.42.

Oracle Stock Performance

ORCL stock opened at $160.31 on Friday. 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $142.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $162.49. Oracle Co. has a fifty-two week low of $114.55 and a fifty-two week high of $198.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $448.39 billion, a PE ratio of 39.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.27.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its earnings results 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). Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The business had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.40 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.41 EPS. Oracle’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. This is a boost from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.25%. Oracle’s payout ratio is 46.95%.

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.