Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC Acquires New Shares in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 1,742 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock, valued at approximately $290,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ORCL. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Oracle in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Oracle in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new position in Oracle in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Oracle in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, TFC Financial Management Inc. boosted its position in Oracle by 129.0% in 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 during the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on ORCL shares. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Oracle from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised Oracle from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Oracle from $205.00 to $175.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Oracle from $220.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price objective on Oracle from $210.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Oracle currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $174.42.

Oracle Stock Performance

NYSE ORCL opened at $156.04 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $143.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $161.60. Oracle Co. has a fifty-two week low of $114.55 and a fifty-two week high of $198.31. 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 company has a market cap of $436.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.15, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.27.

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 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.41 EPS. Oracle’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.28%. This is a boost from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle’s payout ratio is presently 46.95%.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In other Oracle news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,866 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.53, for a total value of $428,552.98. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 31,764 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,749,670.92. This represents a 8.28% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 $7,538,339.30. This represents a 7.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 27,366 shares of company stock worth $4,015,723 in the last quarter. 42.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.