Northeast Financial Consultants Inc Raises Stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Northeast Financial Consultants Inc boosted its stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 9.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,355 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 467 shares during the quarter. Northeast Financial Consultants Inc’s holdings in Oracle were worth $892,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ORCL. Requisite Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Requisite Capital Management LLC now owns 2,240 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $373,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Oracle by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. now owns 1,423 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $237,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp boosted its position in shares of Oracle by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 5,447 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $908,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. Warther Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Oracle by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Warther Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,621 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $603,000 after buying an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Howard Bailey Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Howard Bailey Securities LLC now owns 2,274 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $379,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Oracle from $205.00 to $175.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Stephens assumed coverage on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $167.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Oracle from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Oracle from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $174.42.

Oracle Price Performance

NYSE ORCL opened at $162.29 on Wednesday. Oracle Co. has a 1 year low of $114.55 and a 1 year high of $198.31. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $142.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $162.76. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. The company has a market cap of $453.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.68, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.27.

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

Oracle Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. This is a positive change from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.95%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,866 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.53, for a total value of $428,552.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 31,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,749,670.92. This represents a 8.28% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 17,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.24, for a total value of $2,646,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 58,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,785,531.60. This trade represents a 23.15% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 27,366 shares of company stock worth $4,015,723. Company insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

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.