Arete Wealth Advisors LLC Grows Position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Arete Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 37.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,135 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after acquiring an additional 2,232 shares during the period. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Oracle were worth $1,356,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Oracle by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,416,362 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $411,748,000 after acquiring an additional 121,874 shares during the last quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Oracle by 201.7% during the 4th quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,599 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $266,000 after acquiring an additional 1,069 shares during the last quarter. RMR Wealth Builders raised its position in shares of Oracle by 383.4% during the fourth quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 7,155 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $1,192,000 after acquiring an additional 5,675 shares during the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Oracle by 24.8% during the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 164,593 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $27,428,000 after purchasing an additional 32,718 shares during the period. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Oracle during the 4th quarter worth $1,800,000. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Oracle Stock Down 6.6 %

Shares of ORCL stock traded down $9.06 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $128.17. 14,968,758 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,095,138. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. The company's 50-day moving average price is $160.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $169.33. The company has a market cap of $358.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.34, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.22. Oracle Co. has a 12 month low of $112.78 and a 12 month high of $198.31.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $14.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.40 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The company's revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.41 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.56%. This is a boost from Oracle's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle's dividend payout ratio is currently 46.95%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.35, for a total value of $389,448,893.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at $207,331,027.20. This represents a 65.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 42.20% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ORCL. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Oracle from $210.00 to $190.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Westpark Capital began coverage on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday. They set a "buy" rating and a $195.00 price target for the company. Citigroup lowered their target price on Oracle from $194.00 to $160.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $178.65.

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.