Howe & Rusling Inc. Increases Stock Position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Howe & Rusling Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 24.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,284 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,250 shares during the period. Howe & Rusling Inc.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $1,047,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ORCL. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Oracle by 89.7% in the 4th 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. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Oracle during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. TFC Financial Management Inc. grew its position in Oracle by 129.0% during the fourth quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 213 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the period. Finally, Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at about $47,000. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Oracle Trading Down 4.0 %

NYSE:ORCL opened at $147.71 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $413.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.12, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $164.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $170.28. 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 12-month low of $112.78 and a 12-month high of $198.31.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced 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 firm had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.40 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.41 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.35%. This is a positive change from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.95%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ORCL has been the topic of a number of research reports. StockNews.com cut Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Barclays dropped their price target on Oracle from $212.00 to $202.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $220.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Oracle from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price target on shares of Oracle from $214.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Oracle currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $179.20.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.35, for a total value of $389,448,893.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

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.