Freestone Capital Holdings LLC Boosts Holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Freestone Capital Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 0.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 109,163 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 263 shares during the period. Oracle accounts for 0.6% of Freestone Capital Holdings LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Freestone Capital Holdings LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $18,191,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wealth Group Ltd. acquired a new position in Oracle during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $222,000. Howard Capital Management Group LLC increased its stake in Oracle by 12.4% during the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 8,019 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,366,000 after purchasing an additional 883 shares in the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc increased its stake in Oracle by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 2,325,268 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $395,295,000 after purchasing an additional 53,128 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Oracle during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $133,000. Finally, United Advisor Group LLC acquired a new position in Oracle during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $610,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.35, for a total transaction 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 approximately $207,331,027.20. This trade represents a 65.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 42.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Oracle to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded shares of Oracle from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Oracle from $173.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $182.73.

Oracle Stock Performance

NYSE:ORCL opened at $161.75 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $168.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $169.10. 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 company has a market cap of $452.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.55, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. Oracle Co. has a twelve month low of $110.67 and a twelve month high of $198.31.

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

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Oracle’s dividend 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.