Virtu Financial LLC Purchases New Holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 1,854 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock, valued at approximately $309,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ORCL. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. TFC Financial Management Inc. raised its stake in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Oracle during the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Oracle Stock Down 3.5 %

ORCL traded down $5.03 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $140.75. The company had a trading volume of 13,138,087 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,963,386. The company has a market capitalization of $393.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.41, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $163.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $170.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. Oracle Co. has a 52 week low of $112.78 and a 52 week high of $198.31.

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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 for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.40 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.41 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is an increase from Oracle's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.42%. Oracle's dividend payout ratio is presently 46.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on ORCL shares. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Oracle from $194.00 to $160.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. BNP Paribas raised Oracle to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. KeyCorp reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Oracle from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their target price on shares of Oracle from $214.00 to $175.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $179.20.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at $207,331,027.20. This trade represents a 65.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 42.20% of the company's stock.

Oracle 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.