Tradewinds LLC. Acquires Shares of 1,419 Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Tradewinds LLC. bought a new position in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 1,419 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock, valued at approximately $251,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Howard Capital Management Group LLC raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 883 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Oracle by 5.3% in 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 acquiring an additional 121,874 shares during the period. United Bank lifted its position in Oracle by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 11,430 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,948,000 after acquiring an additional 519 shares during the period. Atom Investors LP grew its stake in shares of Oracle by 100.2% in the 3rd quarter. Atom Investors LP now owns 8,698 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,482,000 after purchasing an additional 4,353 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Oracle by 1,257.4% in the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 92,601 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $15,780,000 after purchasing an additional 85,779 shares during the period. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on ORCL shares. Royal Bank of Canada set a $145.00 price target on Oracle and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Oracle from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. UBS Group reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $220.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on Oracle from $194.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Oracle has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $178.65.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In other Oracle news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was 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 directly owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,331,027.20. The trade was a 65.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Price Performance

ORCL stock opened at $142.05 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $162.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $170.02. The firm has a market cap of $397.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.73, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. Oracle Co. has a 1 year low of $112.78 and a 1 year 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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.02). Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The company had revenue of $14.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.41 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This is a positive change from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle’s payout ratio is currently 46.95%.

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.