Virtu Financial LLC Makes New $309,000 Investment in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 1,854 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock, valued at approximately $309,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Howard Capital Management Group LLC grew its position in shares of Oracle by 12.4% in the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 8,019 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,366,000 after purchasing an additional 883 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Oracle by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,416,362 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $411,748,000 after purchasing an additional 121,874 shares during the period. United Bank grew its holdings in Oracle by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 11,430 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,948,000 after buying an additional 519 shares during the last quarter. Cadence Bank increased its position in Oracle by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Cadence Bank now owns 7,605 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,296,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. Finally, Freedom Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 3.0% during the third quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. now owns 9,723 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,657,000 after buying an additional 281 shares during the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ORCL shares. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Royal Bank of Canada set a $145.00 target price on shares of Oracle and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Barclays lowered their price target on Oracle from $212.00 to $202.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Oracle from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Oracle currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $179.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at $207,331,027.20. The trade was a 65.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 42.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Oracle Price Performance

NYSE:ORCL opened at $145.88 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $408.03 billion, a PE ratio of 35.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $164.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $170.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. Oracle Co. has a 12 month low of $112.78 and a 12 month high of $198.31.

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

Oracle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.37%. This is a boost from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Oracle’s payout ratio is currently 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.