Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Bought by M3 Advisory Group LLC

M3 Advisory Group LLC grew its position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 3.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,254 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. M3 Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $542,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ORCL. Vista Investment Partners LLC grew its position in Oracle by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Vista Investment Partners LLC now owns 35,043 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $5,840,000 after acquiring an additional 259 shares in the last quarter. Park Edge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Oracle by 37.2% in the fourth quarter. Park Edge Advisors LLC now owns 6,843 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,140,000 after purchasing an additional 1,857 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. increased its stake in Oracle by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 72,166 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $12,026,000 after buying an additional 2,975 shares during the period. Duncan Williams Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Oracle by 141.1% during the 4th quarter. Duncan Williams Asset Management LLC now owns 3,076 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $513,000 after buying an additional 1,800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC boosted its position in Oracle by 133.7% in the 4th quarter. Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC now owns 26,252 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $4,375,000 after buying an additional 15,020 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Stock Performance

Shares of ORCL stock opened at $183.59 on Friday. Oracle Co. has a 52-week low of $106.51 and a 52-week high of $198.31. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $174.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $162.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $513.50 billion, a PE ratio of 44.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 1.06.

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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.34 EPS. Oracle’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5.01 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Oracle’s payout ratio is 39.12%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Guggenheim upped their price objective on Oracle from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. KeyCorp increased their price target on Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. BNP Paribas raised Oracle to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. UBS Group raised their target price 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, Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on shares of Oracle from $201.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $182.73.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In other Oracle news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the firm’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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,331,027.20. This trade represents a 65.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

About Oracle

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.