Scratch Capital LLC Takes Position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Scratch Capital LLC bought a new stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 2,200 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock, valued at approximately $367,000. Oracle comprises approximately 0.4% of Scratch Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest holding.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Oracle by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC now owns 32,604 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $5,433,000 after buying an additional 293 shares during the last quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Oracle by 14.3% in the 4th quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 41,478 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $6,912,000 after buying an additional 5,196 shares during the period. Auxano Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Oracle by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. Auxano Advisors LLC now owns 12,929 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $2,154,000 after buying an additional 835 shares during the period. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in Oracle by 24.6% during the fourth quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 15,860 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $2,674,000 after buying an additional 3,132 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. acquired a new position in Oracle during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,763,000. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Oracle news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,331,027.20. This represents a 65.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 42.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ORCL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Oracle from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. StockNews.com downgraded Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Oracle from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Oracle from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $182.73.

Oracle Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ORCL opened at $161.91 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $168.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $169.01. Oracle Co. has a 1-year low of $110.36 and a 1-year high of $198.31. The firm has a market cap of $452.86 billion, a PE ratio of 39.59, a PEG 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 (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its earnings results on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $14.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.12 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.34 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 23rd were given 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 0.99%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.12%.

Oracle Company 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.