Woodward Diversified Capital LLC Reduces Position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Woodward Diversified Capital LLC decreased its holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 42.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,120 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 1,557 shares during the period. Woodward Diversified Capital LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $353,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ORCL. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Oracle during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC grew its position 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 valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 3rd quarter valued at $44,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Oracle during the 4th quarter worth about $47,000. Finally, Avondale Wealth Management purchased a new position in Oracle during the 3rd quarter valued at about $51,000. Institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of ORCL stock opened at $174.53 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $170.63 and a 200 day moving average of $164.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. Oracle Co. has a 1-year low of $106.51 and a 1-year high of $198.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $488.15 billion, a PE ratio of 42.67, a P/E/G ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.05.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $14.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.12 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.34 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ORCL. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Oracle from $173.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of Oracle from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Oracle to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Oracle from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Oracle presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $182.73.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In other news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the business’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 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. The trade was a 65.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.