Everest Management Corp. Buys Shares of 5,476 Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Everest Management Corp. bought a new position in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 5,476 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock, valued at approximately $913,000. Oracle comprises about 0.8% of Everest Management Corp.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Oracle by 89.7% during the 4th quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 184 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Oracle during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Finally, TFC Financial Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 120 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In other Oracle news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.35, for a total value of $389,448,893.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $207,331,027.20. This trade represents a 65.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.81, for a total transaction of $291,620.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 34,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,049,400.30. This trade represents a 5.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 2,453,328 shares of company stock worth $454,439,851 over the last ninety days. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their target price on Oracle from $214.00 to $175.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Oracle from $212.00 to $202.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating and set a $205.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. BMO Capital Markets cut 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. Finally, Westpark Capital assumed coverage on Oracle in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $195.00 target price for the company. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $176.73.

Oracle Stock Performance

Shares of ORCL stock traded down $1.20 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $128.56. The stock had a trading volume of 8,919,409 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,309,665. The stock's 50 day moving average is $151.82 and its 200 day moving average is $166.61. Oracle Co. has a twelve month low of $112.78 and a twelve month high of $198.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $359.58 billion, a PE ratio of 31.43, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.40 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.41 earnings per share. Oracle's quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

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

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.