1,444 Shares in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Acquired by Benchmark Investment Advisors LLC

Benchmark Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,444 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock, valued at approximately $241,000.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Howard Capital Management Group LLC grew its position in shares of Oracle by 12.4% in 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 buying an additional 883 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Oracle by 5.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,416,362 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $411,748,000 after acquiring an additional 121,874 shares during the period. United Bank boosted its holdings in Oracle by 4.8% in the third quarter. United Bank now owns 11,430 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,948,000 after acquiring an additional 519 shares during the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc acquired a new stake in Oracle during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,590,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Oracle by 27.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 57,424 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $9,785,000 after purchasing an additional 12,302 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 345,174 shares of Oracle 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,565,931.52. This trade represents a 23.58 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.81, for a total transaction of $291,620.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 34,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,049,400.30. This trade represents a 5.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 2,448,328 shares of company stock worth $453,791,001 over the last three months. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Oracle Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ORCL opened at $128.17 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $358.48 billion, a PE ratio of 31.34, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.22. 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’s 50 day moving average price is $160.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $169.34. Oracle Co. has a twelve month low of $112.78 and a twelve month high of $198.31.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.02). Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The business had revenue of $14.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.41 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $0.50 dividend. This is a positive change from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.56%. Oracle’s payout ratio is currently 46.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on ORCL. UBS Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $220.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup decreased their target price on Oracle from $194.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price target on Oracle from $214.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Oracle from $210.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Oracle has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $178.65.

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.