Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Bought by Howard Capital Management Inc.

Howard Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 5.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 10,013 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after buying an additional 517 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $1,669,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Oracle by 89.7% in the fourth 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 during the period. TFC Financial Management Inc. grew its holdings in Oracle by 129.0% during the 4th quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 213 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Oracle during the 3rd quarter worth $44,000. Finally, Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Oracle in the 4th quarter worth $47,000. 42.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In related 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,331,027.20. The trade was a 65.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 42.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Oracle Stock Performance

ORCL opened at $167.92 on Monday. Oracle Co. has a 1-year low of $109.66 and a 1-year high of $198.31. The company has a market capitalization of $469.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.05. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $168.99 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $167.58. 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 (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). 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 firm posted $1.34 EPS. Oracle’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.95%. Oracle’s payout ratio is currently 39.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on ORCL shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Oracle from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Oracle from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Guggenheim upped their target price on Oracle from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. KeyCorp increased their target price on Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Oracle from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned 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.com, the stock 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.