Virtus Investment Advisers Inc. Purchases New Position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Virtus Investment Advisers Inc. bought a new position in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 900 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock, valued at approximately $150,000.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Oracle during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. TFC Financial Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Oracle by 129.0% during the fourth quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 213 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter worth $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ORCL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America reduced their price target on Oracle from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $220.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Oracle from $220.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Oracle from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $174.42.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

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

Oracle Price Performance

Shares of ORCL opened at $159.46 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $143.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $162.38. The company has a market capitalization of $446.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.99, a P/E/G 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. Oracle Co. has a fifty-two week low of $114.55 and a fifty-two week high of $198.31.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm 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 company earned $1.41 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a positive change from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.95%.

Oracle 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.