Bernard Wealth Management Corp. Invests $719,000 in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new position in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 4,317 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock, valued at approximately $719,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Oracle by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 157,411,949 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $26,231,127,000 after purchasing an additional 2,296,069 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Oracle by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 38,002,902 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $6,332,803,000 after purchasing an additional 156,269 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Oracle by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,814,302 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $5,954,961,000 after purchasing an additional 619,619 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Oracle by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 20,202,421 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $3,366,531,000 after buying an additional 1,722,037 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Oracle by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 19,620,534 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $3,269,566,000 after buying an additional 2,176,892 shares in the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 17,500 shares of Oracle 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,785,531.60. This trade represents a 23.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,866 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.53, for a total value of $428,552.98. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 31,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,749,670.92. The trade was a 8.28% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 27,366 shares of company stock worth $4,015,723 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Stock Performance

ORCL opened at $156.04 on Monday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $143.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $161.83. The firm 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 fifty-two week low of $114.55 and a fifty-two week high of $198.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $14.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.40 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. Oracle’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.41 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.28%. This is a positive change from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on ORCL shares. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Oracle from $205.00 to $175.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Stephens started coverage on Oracle in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $167.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Oracle from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Oracle from $194.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Oracle from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Oracle has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $174.42.

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.