Leeward Financial Partners LLC Takes $3.50 Million Position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Leeward Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 21,008 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,501,000. Oracle makes up about 1.2% of Leeward Financial Partners LLC's holdings, making the stock its 27th largest position.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ORCL. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Oracle during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 89.7% during the fourth quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 184 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Oracle in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. TFC Financial Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Oracle by 129.0% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Finally, Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Oracle during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $47,000. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Oracle from $220.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 31st. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded shares of Oracle from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Oracle from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Oracle from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Oracle from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Thirteen equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $178.65.

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Insider Activity at Oracle

In other Oracle news, CEO Safra Catz sold 345,174 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.56, for a total value of $64,050,487.44. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at $207,565,931.52. The trade was a 23.58 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.81, for a total value of $291,620.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 34,630 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,049,400.30. The trade was a 5.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 2,448,328 shares of company stock valued at $453,791,001. 42.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Oracle Stock Performance

Shares of ORCL stock traded down $9.06 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $128.17. 14,968,758 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,111,905. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $160.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $169.34. 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. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.40 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 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $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 firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given 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 dividend yield of 1.56%. This is a boost from Oracle's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.