Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Buys 20,081 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 7.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 306,541 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 20,081 shares during the period. Oracle comprises about 0.6% of Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $51,082,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Kovack Advisors Inc. raised its position in Oracle by 9.4% during the 4th quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 13,063 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $2,177,000 after purchasing an additional 1,123 shares during the last quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. raised its position in Oracle by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 651,433 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $108,555,000 after purchasing an additional 13,400 shares during the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC raised its position in Oracle by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 217,069 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $36,172,000 after purchasing an additional 2,833 shares during the last quarter. Apriem Advisors raised its position in Oracle by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Apriem Advisors now owns 2,637 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $439,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cable Hill Partners LLC raised its position in Oracle by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Cable Hill Partners LLC now owns 16,900 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $2,816,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Stock Performance

Shares of ORCL opened at $172.37 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $169.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $168.15. The company has a market cap of $482.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.14, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.05. 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 Co. has a 12 month low of $109.79 and a 12 month high of $198.31.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced 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). Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The company had revenue of $14.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.34 earnings per share. Oracle’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 23rd were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.93%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on ORCL shares. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $205.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup increased their target price on Oracle from $157.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Oracle from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $165.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $182.73.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Oracle news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 42.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.