Willis Johnson & Associates Inc. Lowers Position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Willis Johnson & Associates Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 11.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,801 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 235 shares during the quarter. Willis Johnson & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $300,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Oracle during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Oracle in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. TFC Financial Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 129.0% in the 4th quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 213 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. 42.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $130.00 target price (down from $190.00) on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. DA Davidson decreased their price target on shares of Oracle from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Oracle from $200.00 to $185.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $220.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Fourteen research 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $174.42.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In other Oracle news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.81, for a total transaction of $291,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 34,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,049,400.30. The trade was a 5.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.24, for a total transaction of $2,646,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 58,090 shares in the company, 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 Down 0.6%

Oracle stock opened at $159.46 on Tuesday. 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 market cap of $446.00 billion, a PE ratio of 38.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.27. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $143.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $162.38. Oracle Co. has a one year low of $114.55 and a one year high of $198.31.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). The company had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.40 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The business’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.41 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.25%. This is a boost from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle’s payout ratio is currently 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.