Welch Group LLC Has $10.38 Million Stock Holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Welch Group LLC grew its position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 0.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 62,163 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after buying an additional 223 shares during the period. Welch Group LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $10,376,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in ORCL. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Oracle by 89.7% during the fourth quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 184 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Oracle in the third quarter valued at $44,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Oracle during the 4th quarter worth about $47,000. Finally, Avondale Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Oracle during the 3rd quarter worth about $51,000. Institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ORCL opened at $168.60 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $171.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $163.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $471.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 1.05. 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 current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 the consensus estimate of $14.12 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.34 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 23rd were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.95%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.12%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.35, for a total value of $389,448,893.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at $207,331,027.20. The trade was a 65.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted 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. Guggenheim boosted their price target on Oracle from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Oracle from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. DA Davidson increased their price target on Oracle from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price objective 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 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Oracle presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $182.73.

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.