Forbes J M & Co. LLP Increases Stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Forbes J M & Co. LLP grew its stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 43.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,102 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 944 shares during the period. Forbes J M & Co. LLP’s holdings in Oracle were worth $517,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Oracle by 89.7% during the fourth quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 184 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the period. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Oracle during the third quarter valued at $44,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. Finally, Avondale Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Oracle during the 3rd quarter worth about $51,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. StockNews.com raised shares of Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 1st. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on shares of Oracle in a research report on Friday, January 17th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $214.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Oracle has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $182.73.

Oracle Price Performance

ORCL stock opened at $174.53 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $170.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $164.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $488.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.67, a P/E/G ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.05. Oracle Co. has a 1 year low of $106.51 and a 1 year high of $198.31.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $14.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.12 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.34 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share 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 issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.92%. Oracle’s payout ratio is currently 39.12%.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 345,174 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.56, for a total transaction of $64,050,487.44. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at $207,565,931.52. This trade represents a 23.58 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

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.