Merit Financial Group LLC Grows Holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Merit Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 16.1% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 54,734 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,574 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $7,652,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Oracle during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Oracle during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new position in Oracle during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Oracle during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Finally, TFC Financial Management Inc. lifted its stake in 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 during the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on ORCL shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Oracle from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Citigroup cut their target price on Oracle from $194.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. DA Davidson cut their target price on Oracle from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $220.00 target price 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $174.42.

Oracle Price Performance

NYSE:ORCL opened at $169.26 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $145.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $160.82. The firm has a market cap of $473.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.38, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.32. Oracle Co. has a 52-week low of $118.72 and a 52-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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $14.13 billion during 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.41 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.18%. This is a boost from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In other Oracle news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 17,500 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now owns 58,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,785,531.60. The trade was a 23.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,866 shares of Oracle 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 in the company, valued at approximately $4,749,670.92. This trade represents a 8.28% decrease in their position. 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 90 days. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.