Brown Financial Advisors Cuts Stock Holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Brown Financial Advisors lowered its stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 18.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,499 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 562 shares during the period. Brown Financial Advisors’ holdings in Oracle were worth $416,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ORCL. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Oracle by 89.7% in the fourth quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 184 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. lifted 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 valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the period. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 3rd quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Oracle in the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. Institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Stock Performance

ORCL opened at $170.00 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $168.97 and its 200 day moving average is $167.87. 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 company has a market cap of $475.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.56, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.05. Oracle Co. has a 12-month low of $109.79 and a 12-month high of $198.31.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $14.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.34 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Oracle’s payout ratio is 39.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ORCL. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Oracle from $157.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Oracle from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Oracle to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered shares of Oracle to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Oracle from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $182.73.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Safra Catz sold 345,174 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.56, for a total value of $64,050,487.44. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,565,931.52. The trade was a 23.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed 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.