Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. Increases Position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. increased its stake in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 16.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 11,008 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,557 shares during the period. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $1,834,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Oracle by 89.7% during the 4th quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 184 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. TFC Financial Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Oracle by 129.0% in the fourth quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 213 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. Institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 345,174 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.56, for a total transaction of $64,050,487.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,565,931.52. The trade was a 23.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ORCL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Royal Bank of Canada set a $145.00 price target on shares of Oracle and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Oracle to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $150.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Oracle from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Oracle currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.20.

Oracle Stock Performance

NYSE ORCL opened at $147.71 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. Oracle Co. has a twelve month low of $112.78 and a twelve month high of $198.31. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $164.62 and a 200 day moving average of $170.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $413.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.12, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.40 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.41 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.35%. This is a boost from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle’s payout ratio is currently 46.95%.

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.