HF Advisory Group LLC Acquires 2,475 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

HF Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 16.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,579 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,475 shares during the period. Oracle comprises 1.1% of HF Advisory Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. HF Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $2,458,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Oracle during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Oracle in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, TFC Financial Management Inc. grew its stake in 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 buying an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In other Oracle news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 5,000 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction on Friday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.77, for a total value of $648,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 58,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,538,339.30. This trade represents a 7.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,866 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now owns 31,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,749,670.92. This represents 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 over the last quarter. 42.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on ORCL. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Oracle from $205.00 to $175.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Oracle from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. UBS Group reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and set a $130.00 price target (down from $190.00) on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded Oracle from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $174.42.

Oracle Price Performance

ORCL opened at $168.17 on Thursday. 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 stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $145.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $160.87. The firm has a market cap of $470.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.12, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.32. Oracle Co. has a 1 year low of $118.86 and a 1 year high of $198.31.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $14.13 billion during 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 quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.41 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. This is an increase 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.