Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC Purchases 2,740 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 22.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 14,740 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,740 shares during the period. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $2,456,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Oracle during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 87 shares during the period. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Oracle during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Oracle during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Finally, TFC Financial Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Oracle by 129.0% during the fourth quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 213 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the period. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the director now directly owns 58,090 shares in the company, valued at $7,538,339.30. This trade represents a 7.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,866 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the director now owns 31,764 shares in the company, valued at $4,749,670.92. This trade represents a 8.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 27,366 shares of company stock valued at $4,015,723. Company insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Stock Performance

Shares of ORCL stock opened at $162.29 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $453.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The business has a fifty day moving average of $142.26 and a 200 day moving average of $162.76. Oracle Co. has a 1 year low of $114.55 and a 1 year high of $198.31.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.40 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. Oracle’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.41 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is an increase from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.95%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on ORCL. StockNews.com lowered Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $220.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada set a $145.00 target price on Oracle and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and set a $130.00 target price (down previously from $190.00) on shares of Oracle in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Oracle from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Oracle has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $174.42.

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.