Diversified Portfolios Inc. Purchases 161 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Diversified Portfolios Inc. raised its position in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 9.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,784 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the quarter. Diversified Portfolios Inc.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $297,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ORCL. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Oracle during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake 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 worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 3rd quarter valued at $44,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle in the 4th quarter worth $47,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle in the 3rd quarter worth $51,000. Institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on ORCL. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Oracle from $157.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $165.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a report on Thursday, December 5th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Oracle from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on shares of Oracle in a research note on Friday, January 17th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $214.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Oracle currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $182.73.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $207,331,027.20. This represents a 65.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 42.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Oracle Price Performance

ORCL stock opened at $177.18 on Wednesday. Oracle Co. has a 52 week low of $106.51 and a 52 week high of $198.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $495.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $170.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $165.24. 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 (NYSE:ORCL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.48 by ($0.01). Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The company had revenue of $14.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.34 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.90%. Oracle’s payout ratio is presently 39.12%.

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.