Holderness Investments Co. Increases Position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Holderness Investments Co. increased its holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 1.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 50,081 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 797 shares during the quarter. Oracle makes up approximately 1.8% of Holderness Investments Co.’s holdings, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Holderness Investments Co.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $8,345,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of ORCL. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. TFC Financial Management Inc. increased its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Oracle in the 4th quarter worth about $47,000. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. BNP Paribas raised shares of Oracle to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Oracle from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Oracle from $210.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $220.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Oracle has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $179.20.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 345,174 shares of the 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,565,931.52. This trade represents a 23.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 42.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Oracle Trading Up 2.0 %

NYSE:ORCL opened at $152.40 on Thursday. Oracle Co. has a 1-year low of $112.78 and a 1-year high of $198.31. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $165.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $169.89. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $426.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.26, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 during 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%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.41 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 is a boost from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.31%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.95%.

Oracle 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.