Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Increases Stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 3.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 106,371 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,581 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $17,726,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Oracle during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Oracle by 89.7% in the 4th quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 184 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. TFC Financial Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Oracle by 129.0% in the 4th quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 213 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $47,000. 42.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Oracle Stock Up 4.8 %

Shares of NYSE:ORCL opened at $151.17 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $422.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.96, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. Oracle Co. has a 1-year low of $112.78 and a 1-year high of $198.31. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $166.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $169.49.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). The firm had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.40 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.41 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.32%. This is an increase from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Oracle from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Oracle from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Oracle from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Oracle from $210.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $176.85.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 completion of 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 42.20% of the stock is 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.