Advisors Capital Management LLC Purchases 7,130 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Advisors Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 212,941 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after purchasing an additional 7,130 shares during the period. Advisors Capital Management LLC's holdings in Oracle were worth $35,485,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of ORCL. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Oracle by 89.7% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, TFC Financial Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Oracle by 129.0% in the fourth quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 213 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Oracle Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:ORCL traded up $1.98 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $134.33. 8,208,279 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,276,268. The company has a market capitalization of $375.72 billion, a PE ratio of 32.84, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.22. Oracle Co. has a 52-week low of $112.78 and a 52-week high of $198.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $154.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $167.39.

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Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.41 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This is a boost from Oracle's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.49%. Oracle's dividend payout ratio is currently 46.95%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada set a $145.00 price target on shares of Oracle and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Oracle from $194.00 to $160.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Oracle from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. KeyCorp reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $205.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Thirteen 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $178.27.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 34,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,049,400.30. This trade represents a 5.46 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Safra Catz sold 345,174 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.56, for a total transaction of $64,050,487.44. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $207,565,931.52. This represents a 23.58 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 2,448,328 shares of company stock valued at $453,791,001 over the last three months. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.