Abacus Planning Group Inc. Boosts Stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Abacus Planning Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 4.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 9,863 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 378 shares during the period. Abacus Planning Group Inc.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $1,644,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ORCL. Wealth Group Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 3rd quarter valued at $222,000. Howard Capital Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 43.5% during the 3rd quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. now owns 2,582 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $440,000 after purchasing an additional 783 shares during the last quarter. Tempus Wealth Planning LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Tempus Wealth Planning LLC now owns 12,931 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $2,203,000 after purchasing an additional 391 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BLB&B Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. BLB&B Advisors LLC now owns 6,655 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,134,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Price Performance

NYSE:ORCL opened at $181.51 on Thursday. Oracle Co. has a 52 week low of $106.51 and a 52 week high of $198.31. 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 has a market capitalization of $507.68 billion, a PE ratio of 44.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 1.05. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $169.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $166.67.

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

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The business 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. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.12%.

Insider Activity at Oracle

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 value of $389,448,893.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,331,027.20. This trade represents a 65.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on ORCL shares. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on Oracle in a research note on Friday, January 17th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $214.00 target price for the company. Mizuho raised their target price on Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Oracle from $173.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, DA Davidson raised their target price on Oracle from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.