Quantum Financial Planning Services Inc. Buys New Shares in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Quantum Financial Planning Services Inc. purchased a new position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 2,530 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock, valued at approximately $422,000. Oracle accounts for 0.2% of Quantum Financial Planning Services Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest holding.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sonora Investment Management Group LLC raised its position in shares of Oracle by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Sonora Investment Management Group LLC now owns 181,584 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $30,259,000 after purchasing an additional 4,098 shares during the period. Oak Harvest Investment Services raised its holdings in Oracle by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Oak Harvest Investment Services now owns 46,828 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $7,803,000 after buying an additional 324 shares during the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Oracle by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 518,313 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $86,372,000 after buying an additional 21,652 shares in the last quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Oracle by 104.2% during the fourth quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 229,948 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $38,286,000 after buying an additional 117,366 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in Oracle by 21.3% in the 4th quarter. Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,007 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $501,000 after acquiring an additional 527 shares in the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on ORCL shares. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Oracle from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Oracle from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. BNP Paribas upgraded Oracle to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $182.73.

Oracle Price Performance

ORCL opened at $170.41 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $172.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $163.03. Oracle Co. has a 52-week low of $106.51 and a 52-week high of $198.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $476.62 billion, a PE ratio of 41.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.34 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 23rd were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.94%. Oracle’s payout ratio is 39.12%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $207,331,027.20. The trade was a 65.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 42.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Oracle 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.