Nixon Peabody Trust Co. Boosts Stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Nixon Peabody Trust Co. lifted its stake in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,539 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 131 shares during the quarter. Nixon Peabody Trust Co.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $923,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Oracle during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Oracle by 89.7% during the fourth quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 184 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the period. TFC Financial Management Inc. increased its holdings in Oracle by 129.0% during the fourth quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 213 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the period. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Oracle during the third quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Oracle during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. 42.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In other news, CEO Safra Catz sold 345,174 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.56, for a total value of $64,050,487.44. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,565,931.52. This represents a 23.58 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on ORCL shares. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded shares of Oracle to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Oracle from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Oracle from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt downgraded shares of Oracle from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $130.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Friday, December 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Oracle has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $182.73.

Oracle Stock Performance

ORCL opened at $166.09 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $464.55 billion, a PE ratio of 40.61, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.05. Oracle Co. has a twelve month low of $110.36 and a twelve month high of $198.31. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $168.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $168.36. 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) last posted its earnings results on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.48 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $14.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.12 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.34 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS 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 issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.96%. Oracle’s payout ratio is 39.12%.

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.