3,184 Shares in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Purchased by Vertex Planning Partners LLC

Vertex Planning Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 3,184 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock, valued at approximately $531,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ORCL. Howard Capital Management Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 12.4% in the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 8,019 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $1,366,000 after purchasing an additional 883 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Oracle by 5.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,416,362 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $411,748,000 after buying an additional 121,874 shares during the period. United Bank grew its stake in shares of Oracle by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 11,430 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $1,948,000 after acquiring an additional 519 shares during the period. Cadence Bank increased its holdings in Oracle by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Cadence Bank now owns 7,605 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $1,296,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Freedom Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Oracle by 3.0% during the third quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. now owns 9,723 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $1,657,000 after purchasing an additional 281 shares during the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Oracle Price Performance

Shares of ORCL stock traded down $5.03 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $140.75. 13,138,087 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,963,386. Oracle Co. has a 12-month low of $112.78 and a 12-month high of $198.31. The company has a market capitalization of $393.67 billion, a PE ratio of 34.41, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $163.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $170.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last posted 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 business had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.40 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.41 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This is a boost from Oracle's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.42%. Oracle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the business'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 owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at $207,331,027.20. The trade was a 65.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 42.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Oracle from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. KeyCorp reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Oracle from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Oracle from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald cut their target price on Oracle from $214.00 to $175.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $179.20.

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.