Bernzott Capital Advisors Sells 24,150 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Bernzott Capital Advisors trimmed its stake in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 43.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 31,327 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 24,150 shares during the quarter. Oracle makes up approximately 2.6% of Bernzott Capital Advisors’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Bernzott Capital Advisors’ holdings in Oracle were worth $5,220,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Winch Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in 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 during the period. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Oracle during the second quarter worth approximately $40,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Oracle during the third quarter worth approximately $44,000. Avondale Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Oracle during the third quarter worth approximately $51,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial acquired a new stake in Oracle during the third quarter worth approximately $51,000. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $165.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. StockNews.com raised Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. BNP Paribas raised Oracle to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Oracle from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price objective on Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Oracle has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $181.48.

Oracle Stock Performance

Shares of Oracle stock opened at $159.73 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $176.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $161.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $446.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.06. Oracle Co. has a 12 month low of $105.68 and a 12 month high of $198.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $14.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarter last year, the business posted $1.34 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5.01 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.00%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.12%.

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.