Forbes J M & Co. LLP Raises Stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Forbes J M & Co. LLP grew its holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 43.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,102 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 944 shares during the quarter. Forbes J M & Co. LLP’s holdings in Oracle were worth $517,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake 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 worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the period. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle in the third quarter valued at about $44,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Oracle during the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. Finally, Avondale Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Oracle in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on ORCL shares. DA Davidson raised their price target on Oracle from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Oracle from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Oracle from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $182.73.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In other news, CEO Safra Catz sold 345,174 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,565,931.52. This trade represents a 23.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Oracle Price Performance

Oracle stock opened at $174.53 on Friday. Oracle Co. has a 1 year low of $106.51 and a 1 year high of $198.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $170.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $164.35. The company has a market cap of $488.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.67, a PEG ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.05.

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

Oracle Dividend Announcement

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 dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. Oracle’s payout ratio is currently 39.12%.

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.