Ascent Group LLC Acquires 1,210 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Ascent Group LLC increased its holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 8.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 15,525 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,210 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $2,587,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, TFC Financial Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In other news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 $5,049,400.30. This represents a 5.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 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. Insiders have sold 27,366 shares of company stock valued at $4,015,723 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on ORCL shares. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Oracle from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Bank of America cut their price objective on Oracle from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Oracle from $205.00 to $175.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Oracle presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $174.42.

Oracle Stock Down 0.8%

NYSE ORCL opened at $156.04 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $436.44 billion, a PE ratio of 38.15, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.27. Oracle Co. has a 12 month low of $114.55 and a 12 month high of $198.31. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $143.68 and its 200 day moving average is $161.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued 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 firm had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.40 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.41 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal 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 1.28%. This is a boost from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio 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.