Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Purchased by Quent Capital LLC

Quent Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,589 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 158 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $2,264,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas lifted its position in shares of Oracle by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas now owns 15,763 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $2,627,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Oracle by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,643 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $274,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Peterson Wealth Services purchased a new stake in Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at $1,471,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at $421,000. Finally, Essex Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Oracle by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 22,564 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $3,760,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Oracle Trading Down 1.0 %

NYSE:ORCL opened at $177.18 on Wednesday. Oracle Co. has a 1 year low of $106.51 and a 1 year high of $198.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $170.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $164.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $495.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.32, a PEG ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.05.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued 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). Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The company had revenue of $14.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.12 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.34 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.90%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.12%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Oracle news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,331,027.20. The trade was a 65.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 42.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ORCL. StockNews.com raised Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Oracle from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. KeyCorp increased their price objective on Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Oracle from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $182.73.

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.