Tobias Financial Advisors Inc. Raises Stock Position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Tobias Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 11.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,648 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after buying an additional 173 shares during the period. Tobias Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $275,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Oracle by 5.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,416,362 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $411,748,000 after purchasing an additional 121,874 shares in the last quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. increased its position in Oracle by 201.7% during the fourth quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,599 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $266,000 after buying an additional 1,069 shares during the period. RMR Wealth Builders increased its position in Oracle by 383.4% during the fourth quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 7,155 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,192,000 after buying an additional 5,675 shares during the period. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 24.8% in the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 164,593 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $27,428,000 after acquiring an additional 32,718 shares during the period. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,800,000. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Oracle from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Oracle from $220.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Stephens initiated coverage on Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $167.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Oracle from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt raised Oracle from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $176.73.

Oracle Price Performance

Oracle stock opened at $129.67 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $152.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $166.90. Oracle Co. has a 52 week low of $112.78 and a 52 week high of $198.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $362.68 billion, a PE ratio of 31.70, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.22.

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

Oracle Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is an increase from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.54%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.95%.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,331,027.20. This trade represents a 65.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.77, for a total value of $648,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 58,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,538,339.30. This trade represents a 7.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 2,453,328 shares of company stock valued at $454,439,851 over the last three months. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by 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.