Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Has $104.46 Million Stock Holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 2.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 626,852 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after buying an additional 14,507 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $104,459,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ORCL. Activest Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 21.9% in the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 312 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Second Line Capital LLC grew its position in Oracle by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Second Line Capital LLC now owns 3,816 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $650,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Cadence Bank increased its stake in Oracle by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Cadence Bank now owns 7,605 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,296,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Requisite Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Oracle by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Requisite Capital Management LLC now owns 2,240 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $373,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Oracle by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. now owns 1,423 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $237,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Stock Performance

Oracle stock opened at $147.41 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $166.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $169.34. 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 1-year low of $112.78 and a 1-year high of $198.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $412.30 billion, a PE ratio of 36.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $14.13 billion during 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.41 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.36%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This is an increase from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.12%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Oracle from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Royal Bank of Canada set a $145.00 target price on Oracle and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Oracle from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Oracle from $194.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Oracle from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $179.71.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

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 owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 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.