Southern Style Financial Inc. Purchases New Position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Southern Style Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 1,973 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock, valued at approximately $329,000. Oracle comprises about 0.3% of Southern Style Financial Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Oracle by 16,023.4% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,065,083 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $351,890,000 after acquiring an additional 2,052,275 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Oracle by 11.6% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 18,480,384 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $3,370,640,000 after purchasing an additional 1,917,416 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in Oracle by 2.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 70,441,556 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $12,003,241,000 after buying an additional 1,847,561 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Oracle by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,194,683 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $5,977,015,000 after buying an additional 885,041 shares during the period. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its position in shares of Oracle by 2,899.0% in the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 913,700 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $155,694,000 after buying an additional 883,233 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company's stock.

Oracle Price Performance

Oracle stock traded down $1.79 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $162.22. 9,832,849 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 15,268,282. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $173.36 and a 200-day moving average price of $163.03. The stock has a market cap of $453.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 1.06. Oracle Co. has a one year low of $106.51 and a one year 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.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.48 by ($0.01). Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The firm had revenue of $14.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.34 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ORCL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Oracle from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Oracle from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of Oracle from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Oracle to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Oracle from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Oracle presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $182.73.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In other news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.35, for a total transaction 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 42.20% of the company's stock.

Oracle Company 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.