Freedom Investment Management Inc. Buys 427 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Freedom Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 4.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 10,150 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 427 shares during the quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $1,691,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Oracle by 89.7% in the 4th quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 184 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Oracle during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Oracle during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, TFC Financial Management Inc. grew its stake in Oracle by 129.0% in the fourth 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 period. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In other Oracle news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.77, for a total value of $648,850.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 58,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,538,339.30. This trade represents a 7.93 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $207,331,027.20. This trade represents a 65.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 2,453,328 shares of company stock valued at $454,439,851. Company insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on ORCL shares. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Oracle from $210.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. StockNews.com cut shares of Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded shares of Oracle from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Oracle from $205.00 to $175.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Oracle in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. 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 data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $176.73.

Oracle Price Performance

Oracle stock opened at $128.56 on Friday. 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 stock’s 50 day moving average is $151.82 and its 200-day moving average is $166.61. Oracle Co. has a 12 month low of $112.78 and a 12 month high of $198.31. The company has a market capitalization of $359.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.43, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.22.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.40 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.41 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. 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%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.