SGL Investment Advisors Inc. Acquires 86 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

SGL Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 5.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,561 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after buying an additional 86 shares during the quarter. SGL Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $269,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter valued at $2,216,314,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Oracle in the 4th quarter worth about $930,095,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Oracle by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 157,411,949 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $26,231,127,000 after buying an additional 2,296,069 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its holdings in Oracle by 268.4% during the 4th quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 3,077,947 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $512,909,000 after buying an additional 2,242,520 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Oracle by 12.5% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 19,620,534 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $3,269,566,000 after buying an additional 2,176,892 shares during the period. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Oracle Trading Down 2.4%

ORCL stock opened at $159.02 on Friday. Oracle Co. has a one year low of $114.55 and a one year high of $198.31. The company has a market capitalization of $444.77 billion, a PE ratio of 38.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.27. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $142.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $162.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its 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 analysts’ expectations of $14.40 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The company’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.41 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This is an increase from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.95%.

Insider Activity

In other Oracle news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 17,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.24, for a total value of $2,646,700.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 58,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,785,531.60. This represents a 23.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,866 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.53, for a total transaction of $428,552.98. Following the transaction, the director now owns 31,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,749,670.92. The trade was a 8.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 27,366 shares of company stock worth $4,015,723 in the last quarter. 42.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada set a $145.00 price objective on shares of Oracle and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Stephens started coverage on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $167.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Oracle from $200.00 to $185.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Oracle in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus 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.