Prudent Man Advisors LLC Invests $346,000 in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Prudent Man Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 2,074 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock, valued at approximately $346,000.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Metis Global Partners LLC grew its holdings in Oracle by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 97,987 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $16,329,000 after purchasing an additional 2,258 shares during the period. Providence First Trust Co grew its holdings in Oracle by 612.2% in the fourth quarter. Providence First Trust Co now owns 10,840 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,806,000 after purchasing an additional 9,318 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in Oracle by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,570,294 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $261,674,000 after purchasing an additional 17,959 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Oracle by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 17,995,664 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $2,998,798,000 after purchasing an additional 97,635 shares during the period. Finally, Conservest Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Oracle in the fourth quarter worth $254,000. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Oracle Stock Performance

NYSE ORCL opened at $166.09 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $168.93 and its 200-day moving average is $168.60. Oracle Co. has a 12-month low of $110.36 and a 12-month high of $198.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. The firm has a market cap of $464.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.05.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.48 by ($0.01). Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The business had revenue of $14.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.12 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.34 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ORCL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded shares of Oracle to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Oracle from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Oracle to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $165.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Oracle has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $182.73.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.35, for a total transaction of $389,448,893.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,331,027.20. This represents a 65.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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.