Meridian Financial LLC Lowers Stock Position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Meridian Financial LLC lessened its stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 26.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,395 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 500 shares during the period. Meridian Financial LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $232,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Winch Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Oracle by 89.7% in the 4th quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 184 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Oracle during the third quarter worth approximately $44,000. Avondale Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle in the 3rd quarter valued at $51,000. Friedenthal Financial bought a new position in shares of Oracle during the 3rd quarter valued at $51,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management raised its position in Oracle by 21.9% in the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 312 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Stock Performance

Shares of ORCL opened at $161.05 on Friday. Oracle Co. has a one year low of $106.51 and a one year high of $198.31. The business has a fifty day moving average of $175.44 and a 200 day moving average of $161.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $450.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.38, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.06.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.48 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $14.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.12 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 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.34 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5.01 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ORCL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Oracle from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Oracle from $157.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Oracle from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $165.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a report on Thursday, December 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $182.73.

Oracle 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.