Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Purchased by Merit Financial Group LLC

Merit Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 45.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 47,160 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after buying an additional 14,741 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in Oracle were worth $7,859,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of ORCL. Winch Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 87 shares during the period. Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle during the third quarter worth about $44,000. Avondale Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle during the third quarter worth about $51,000. Friedenthal Financial acquired a new position in Oracle in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $51,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 56 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Oracle from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and set a $205.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. DA Davidson raised their target price on Oracle from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on Oracle in a research report on Friday. They set an "overweight" rating and a $214.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Oracle presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $182.73.

Oracle Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ORCL traded up $1.51 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $161.05. The company had a trading volume of 11,593,649 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,912,798. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $175.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $161.34. The stock has a market cap of $450.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.06. 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 Co. has a twelve month low of $106.51 and a twelve month high of $198.31.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last posted 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 company had revenue of $14.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.12 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The firm's revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.34 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

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

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.