Welch Group LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Welch Group LLC boosted its stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 62,163 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after buying an additional 223 shares during the quarter. Welch Group LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $10,376,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ORCL. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Oracle by 89.7% during the 4th 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. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Oracle in the 3rd quarter worth about $44,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Oracle during the fourth quarter valued at about $47,000. Finally, Avondale Wealth Management bought a new stake in Oracle in the third quarter worth about $51,000. 42.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Oracle Trading Down 0.9 %

NYSE ORCL opened at $168.60 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. Oracle Co. has a 1-year low of $106.51 and a 1-year high of $198.31. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $171.89 and a 200-day moving average of $163.58. The firm has a market cap of $471.57 billion, a PE ratio of 41.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 1.05.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $14.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.12 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.34 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.95%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.12%.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.35, for a total transaction of $389,448,893.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at $207,331,027.20. The trade was a 65.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 42.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ORCL. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. StockNews.com raised Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Guggenheim increased their target price on Oracle from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Oracle presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $182.73.

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.