Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Acquired by Advisors Capital Management LLC

Advisors Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 3.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 212,941 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,130 shares during the quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $35,485,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ORCL. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Oracle by 89.7% during the fourth quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 184 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new position in Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, TFC Financial Management Inc. raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Oracle news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.81, for a total value of $291,620.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 34,630 shares in the company, valued at $5,049,400.30. The trade was a 5.46 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $207,331,027.20. This represents a 65.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 2,448,328 shares of company stock worth $453,791,001 over the last quarter. 42.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on ORCL shares. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Oracle from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. StockNews.com cut Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on Oracle from $210.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped 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. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Oracle currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $178.65.

Oracle Stock Performance

NYSE ORCL opened at $132.27 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $155.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $167.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $369.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.34, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.22. Oracle Co. has a 1-year low of $112.78 and a 1-year high of $198.31. 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 (NYSE:ORCL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.02). Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The business had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.41 earnings per share. Oracle’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The business 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 $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This is a positive change from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.51%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.95%.

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.