Wedbush Securities Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Wedbush Securities Inc. increased its position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 6.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 53,953 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,102 shares during the quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $8,991,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Oracle by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,980,801 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $663,361,000 after purchasing an additional 69,918 shares during the last quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Oracle by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,161 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,027,000 after buying an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. Katamaran Capital LLP bought a new stake in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter worth $3,448,000. Aviva PLC raised its holdings in Oracle by 22.6% in the fourth quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 998,176 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $166,336,000 after acquiring an additional 183,941 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Oracle during the 4th quarter worth $81,547,000. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 345,174 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.56, for a total value of $64,050,487.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at $207,565,931.52. This trade represents a 23.58 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.81, for a total value of $291,620.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 34,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,049,400.30. The trade was a 5.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 2,448,328 shares of company stock worth $453,791,001. Corporate insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Stock Performance

ORCL opened at $128.17 on Friday. Oracle Co. has a 1-year low of $112.78 and a 1-year high of $198.31. The company has a market capitalization of $358.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.22. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $160.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $169.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.40 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.41 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This is a positive change from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.56%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ORCL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Oracle from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Barclays decreased their target price on Oracle from $212.00 to $202.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. UBS Group reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $205.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Oracle from $205.00 to $175.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.65.

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.