Evanson Asset Management LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Evanson Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 4.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,513 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after buying an additional 205 shares during the period. Evanson Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $476,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Oracle in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE raised its position in Oracle by 298.4% in the third quarter. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE now owns 243 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares during the period. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Oracle in the third quarter worth about $27,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Oracle by 1,268.0% in the third quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 342 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Studio Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Oracle during the fourth quarter valued at about $42,000. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Oracle Trading Up 0.2 %

Oracle stock traded up $0.29 during trading on Thursday, reaching $125.56. 6,586,560 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,215,633. Oracle Co. has a 52-week low of $89.71 and a 52-week high of $132.77. The company has a market capitalization of $345.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.23, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.00. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $116.38 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $111.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.34, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $13.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.29 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 20.27% and a return on equity of 336.11%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.96 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 24th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.27%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 790,000 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.54, for a total value of $99,966,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $141,546,631.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 42.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on ORCL. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Oracle from $126.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 12th. KeyCorp began coverage on shares of Oracle in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $150.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Oracle from $107.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 12th. Finally, Wolfe Research cut their target price on Oracle from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 12th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Oracle currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $130.76.

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.