Patron Partners LLC Acquires 119 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Patron Partners LLC boosted its position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 3.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,786 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the period. Patron Partners LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $631,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Oracle during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC increased its position 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 valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. 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 acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Finally, Avondale Wealth Management acquired a new position in Oracle in the 3rd quarter valued at $51,000. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Oracle Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:ORCL opened at $168.60 on Tuesday. 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 Co. has a 1 year low of $106.51 and a 1 year high of $198.31. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $171.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $163.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $471.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.22, a PEG ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 1.05.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its 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 firm 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 business earned $1.34 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 23rd were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Oracle’s payout ratio is currently 39.12%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on ORCL shares. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Oracle from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on Oracle in a research report on Friday, January 17th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $214.00 target price for the company. Monness Crespi & Hardt cut Oracle from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $130.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of Oracle from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Oracle presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $182.73.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In other Oracle news, CEO Safra Catz sold 345,174 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.56, for a total transaction of $64,050,487.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $207,565,931.52. This represents a 23.58 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 42.20% of the stock is owned by company 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.