NewEdge Advisors LLC Boosts Holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 3.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 511,947 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after buying an additional 15,496 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC's holdings in Oracle were worth $85,311,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ORCL. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Oracle during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC grew 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 worth $31,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Oracle during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Oracle during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, TFC Financial Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Oracle by 129.0% in the fourth quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 213 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. 42.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and set a $205.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada set a $145.00 target price on shares of Oracle and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Stephens started coverage on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $167.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Oracle from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Oracle from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Oracle currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $176.73.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.77, for a total value of $648,850.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 58,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,538,339.30. This trade represents a 7.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 2,453,328 shares of company stock worth $454,439,851 in the last 90 days. 42.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Oracle Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:ORCL traded down $1.20 during trading on Friday, reaching $128.56. The stock had a trading volume of 8,919,409 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,309,665. 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 stock has a market cap of $359.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.43, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.22. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $151.82 and a 200-day moving average price of $166.61. Oracle Co. has a fifty-two week low of $112.78 and a fifty-two week high of $198.31.

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). 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 analyst estimates of $14.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.41 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.56%. This is a positive change from Oracle's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Oracle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.95%.

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.