Lokken Investment Group LLC Grows Stock Position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Lokken Investment Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 28.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 2,237 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 494 shares during the period. Lokken Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $373,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Oracle by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,416,362 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $411,748,000 after purchasing an additional 121,874 shares in the last quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Oracle by 201.7% in the 4th quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,599 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $266,000 after acquiring an additional 1,069 shares during the period. RMR Wealth Builders raised its stake in Oracle by 383.4% in the 4th quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 7,155 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,192,000 after acquiring an additional 5,675 shares during the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Oracle by 24.8% during the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 164,593 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $27,428,000 after acquiring an additional 32,718 shares during the period. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Oracle during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,800,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ORCL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Stephens initiated coverage on shares of Oracle in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $167.00 price target on the stock. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Oracle from $205.00 to $175.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Oracle from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $178.00.

Oracle Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ORCL opened at $140.07 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $163.52 and a 200 day moving average of $170.16. The firm has a market cap of $391.77 billion, a PE ratio of 34.25, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. Oracle Co. has a one year low of $112.78 and a one year high of $198.31.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its earnings results 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 company 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 revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.41 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.43%. This is a boost from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.95%.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In other news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.35, for a total value of $389,448,893.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at $207,331,027.20. This represents a 65.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

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.