NorthRock Partners LLC Increases Holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

NorthRock Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 172.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 31,497 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,918 shares during the quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $5,249,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Oracle during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake 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 valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Oracle in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, TFC Financial Management Inc. raised its holdings in Oracle by 129.0% during the 4th quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 213 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the period. 42.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on ORCL. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $205.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Oracle from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target 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. StockNews.com lowered shares of Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada set a $145.00 target price on Oracle and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $174.42.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In other Oracle news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.81, for a total transaction of $291,620.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 34,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,049,400.30. This trade represents a 5.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 17,500 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The shares were 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. The trade was a 23.15% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 27,366 shares of company stock worth $4,015,723. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Oracle Trading Up 3.2%

Oracle stock opened at $162.29 on Wednesday. Oracle Co. has a one year low of $114.55 and a one year high of $198.31. The stock has a market cap of $453.92 billion, a PE ratio of 39.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.27. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average of $142.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $162.76.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its earnings results 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). Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The company had revenue of $14.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.41 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

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

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.