Grove Bank & Trust Raises Stock Holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Grove Bank & Trust raised its position in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 34.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 28,318 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,327 shares during the period. Grove Bank & Trust’s holdings in Oracle were worth $4,719,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Winch Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Oracle by 89.7% in 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 in the last quarter. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Oracle in the third quarter worth $44,000. Avondale Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle in the third quarter worth $51,000. Friedenthal Financial purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle in the third quarter worth $51,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Oracle by 21.9% during the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 312 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Stock Performance

Shares of ORCL opened at $161.05 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $175.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $161.34. 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 Co. has a 52 week low of $106.51 and a 52 week high of $198.31. The stock has a market cap of $450.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.38, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.06.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its earnings results on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.48 by ($0.01). Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The firm had revenue of $14.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.34 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5.01 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on shares of Oracle from $201.00 to $202.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on shares of Oracle in a report on Friday. They set an “overweight” rating and a $214.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Oracle from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Monness Crespi & Hardt cut Oracle from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $130.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $182.73.

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.