Congress Asset Management Co. Acquires 2,654 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Congress Asset Management Co. raised its holdings in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 2.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 110,095 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,654 shares during the quarter. Congress Asset Management Co.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $18,346,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ORCL. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Oracle during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Oracle by 89.7% during the fourth quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 184 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. lifted its position in Oracle by 129.0% during the fourth quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 213 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Oracle in the 3rd quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Oracle in the 4th quarter worth about $47,000. Institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ORCL. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Oracle from $173.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Oracle to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Oracle from $157.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on shares of Oracle in a report on Friday, January 17th. They set 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 given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $182.73.

Oracle Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of Oracle stock opened at $173.50 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $169.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $165.80. 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 52-week low of $106.51 and a 52-week high of $198.31. The company has a market cap of $485.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.42, a PEG ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.05.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by ($0.01). Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The firm had revenue of $14.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.34 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 23rd were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

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.