Nicolet Advisory Services LLC Boosts Position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Nicolet Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 0.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 16,501 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $2,549,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of ORCL. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Oracle during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Oracle during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. TFC Financial Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 129.0% in the 4th 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. Finally, Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Price Performance

ORCL opened at $145.96 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. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $162.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $169.85. The firm has a market cap of $408.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.69, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. Oracle Co. has a twelve month low of $112.78 and a twelve month high of $198.31.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $14.40 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. Oracle’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.41 EPS. Equities research analysts expect 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 $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This is a positive change from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is 46.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on ORCL. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Oracle from $210.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Oracle from $200.00 to $185.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Oracle from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Oracle from $220.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $220.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Oracle currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $178.65.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In other Oracle news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.35, for a total value of $389,448,893.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $207,331,027.20. The trade was a 65.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate 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.