Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Purchased by EP Wealth Advisors LLC

EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 2.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 96,791 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,145 shares during the quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $16,129,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Insider Activity at Oracle

In related news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.77, for a total transaction of $648,850.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 58,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,538,339.30. This represents a 7.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,866 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.53, for a total value of $428,552.98. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 31,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,749,670.92. This trade represents a 8.28 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 27,366 shares of company stock valued at $4,015,723. Company insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on ORCL shares. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $205.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Mizuho lowered their price target on Oracle from $210.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. StockNews.com cut shares of Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $220.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Oracle from $200.00 to $185.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Fourteen 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $174.42.

Oracle Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE:ORCL opened at $149.29 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $417.56 billion, a PE ratio of 36.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.27. Oracle Co. has a 52-week low of $114.55 and a 52-week high of $198.31. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $142.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $163.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The business had revenue of $14.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.40 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.41 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. This is a positive change from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle’s payout ratio is currently 46.95%.

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.