Cornerstone Select Advisors LLC Invests $454,000 in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Cornerstone Select Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 2,722 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock, valued at approximately $454,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,216,314,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Oracle during the 4th quarter worth $930,095,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Oracle by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 157,411,949 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $26,231,127,000 after buying an additional 2,296,069 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its stake in Oracle by 268.4% in the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 3,077,947 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $512,909,000 after buying an additional 2,242,520 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Oracle by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 19,620,534 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $3,269,566,000 after acquiring an additional 2,176,892 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In related news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.77, for a total transaction 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 represents a 7.93 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.81, for a total transaction of $291,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 34,630 shares in the company, valued at $5,049,400.30. This trade represents a 5.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 27,366 shares of company stock valued at $4,015,723. 42.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Oracle Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ORCL opened at $148.03 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market cap of $414.04 billion, a PE ratio of 36.19, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.27. Oracle Co. has a one year low of $114.55 and a one year high of $198.31. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $142.82 and a 200 day moving average of $163.46.

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

Oracle Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. This is a positive change from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.35%. Oracle’s payout ratio is currently 46.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Oracle from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Barclays cut their target price on Oracle from $212.00 to $202.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $130.00 price target (down previously from $190.00) on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Oracle from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Oracle from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Fourteen equities research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Oracle has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $174.42.

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.