Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Bought by Forge First Asset Management Inc.

Forge First Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 93.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 12,600 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,100 shares during the period. Forge First Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $2,100,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter valued at $262,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in Oracle by 15.7% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 48,654 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $8,108,000 after purchasing an additional 6,588 shares during the period. Hollencrest Capital Management boosted its position in Oracle by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 6,565 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,094,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Oracle by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 14,727 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $2,454,000 after purchasing an additional 426 shares during the period. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in Oracle by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 211,889 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $35,309,000 after buying an additional 1,527 shares during the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on ORCL shares. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $220.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Oracle from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their target price on shares of Oracle from $214.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Oracle from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Oracle currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.92.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.35, for a total value of $389,448,893.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at $207,331,027.20. This trade represents a 65.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Stock Down 3.0 %

ORCL stock opened at $144.29 on Wednesday. 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 $112.78 and a 1 year high of $198.31. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $166.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $169.62. The firm has a market cap of $403.58 billion, a PE ratio of 35.28, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07.

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

Oracle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This is a positive change from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle’s payout ratio is presently 39.12%.

Oracle 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.