Snowden Capital Advisors LLC Purchases 783 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Snowden Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 103,963 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after buying an additional 783 shares during the quarter. Oracle makes up approximately 0.5% of Snowden Capital Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $17,324,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pines Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $236,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of Oracle by 22.5% in the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 29,095 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $4,848,000 after purchasing an additional 5,352 shares during the last quarter. ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC increased its position in shares of Oracle by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 2,124 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $354,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the period. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp raised its stake in Oracle by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 23,142 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $3,856,000 after buying an additional 368 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Oracle by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 11,253 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,875,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the period. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. DA Davidson decreased their price target on Oracle from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Oracle from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded Oracle from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Oracle from $194.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $130.00 target price (down from $190.00) on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $174.42.

Oracle Trading Down 2.4%

NYSE:ORCL opened at $159.02 on Friday. Oracle Co. has a 52 week low of $114.55 and a 52 week high of $198.31. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $142.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $162.66. 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 $444.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.27.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its quarterly 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 net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The business had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.40 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.41 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. This is an increase from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 5,000 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.77, for a total value 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 trade represents a 7.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.81, for a total value of $291,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 34,630 shares in the company, valued at $5,049,400.30. This represents a 5.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 27,366 shares of company stock valued at $4,015,723. Company insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

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.