Evoke Wealth LLC Purchases 850 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Evoke Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 58,254 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after buying an additional 850 shares during the quarter. Evoke Wealth LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $9,707,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Oracle Trading Up 3.2 %

Oracle stock opened at $154.01 on Tuesday. 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 $112.78 and a 12-month high of $198.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $430.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.66, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $165.57 and a 200 day moving average of $169.95.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.40 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 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.41 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This is a boost from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.30%. Oracle’s payout ratio is currently 46.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In other news, CEO Safra Catz sold 345,174 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.56, for a total transaction of $64,050,487.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at $207,565,931.52. This trade represents a 23.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on ORCL. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup cut their target price on Oracle from $194.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised Oracle from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Oracle from $200.00 to $185.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Oracle from $212.00 to $202.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Oracle presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.71.

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.