Lewis Asset Management LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Lewis Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 5.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,631 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 425 shares during the period. Oracle comprises 1.0% of Lewis Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Lewis Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $1,272,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ORCL. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC purchased a new position in Oracle in the second quarter worth about $1,516,000. Advisory Alpha LLC bought a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 2nd quarter valued at $255,000. Brown Financial Advisors bought a new position in shares of Oracle in the second quarter worth about $864,000. Creekside Partners bought a new position in shares of Oracle in the second quarter worth about $425,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in Oracle during the second quarter valued at approximately $36,127,000. 42.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on ORCL shares. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Mizuho increased their price target on Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Guggenheim upped their price objective on Oracle from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Oracle from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on Oracle from $157.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $182.73.

Oracle Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE ORCL opened at $162.22 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $453.71 billion, a PE ratio of 39.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 1.06. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $173.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $163.03. Oracle Co. has a 12-month low of $106.51 and a 12-month high of $198.31.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its 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). The company had revenue of $14.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.12 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.34 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.99%. Oracle’s payout ratio is 39.12%.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In other news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $207,331,027.20. This trade represents a 65.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 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.