Beacon Financial Group Cuts Stock Holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Beacon Financial Group reduced its stake in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 4.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 27,239 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 1,123 shares during the quarter. Beacon Financial Group’s holdings in Oracle were worth $4,539,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Oracle by 89.7% during the 4th quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 184 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Oracle during the 3rd quarter valued at $44,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Oracle in the 4th quarter worth $47,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial purchased a new position in shares of Oracle in the third quarter valued at about $51,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 345,174 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.56, for a total value of $64,050,487.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,565,931.52. This trade represents a 23.58 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on ORCL shares. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Oracle from $173.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” 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 for the company. in a report on Friday, December 20th. DA Davidson upped their target price on Oracle from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Mizuho raised their price target on Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of Oracle from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $182.73.

Oracle Stock Performance

Shares of Oracle stock opened at $177.18 on Wednesday. Oracle Co. has a 1 year low of $106.51 and a 1 year high of $198.31. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $170.37 and its 200 day moving average is $164.97. The stock has a market cap of $495.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.32, a PEG ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued 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). The firm had revenue of $14.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.12 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.34 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Oracle’s payout ratio is 39.12%.

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.