GPM Growth Investors Inc. Has $9.01 Million Stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

GPM Growth Investors Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 54,090 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 346 shares during the quarter. Oracle comprises 3.8% of GPM Growth Investors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. GPM Growth Investors Inc.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $9,014,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wealth Group Ltd. bought a new stake in Oracle in the 3rd quarter worth $222,000. Howard Capital Management Group LLC grew its holdings in 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 worth $1,366,000 after acquiring an additional 883 shares during the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc grew its holdings in Oracle by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 2,325,268 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $395,295,000 after acquiring an additional 53,128 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Oracle in the 3rd quarter worth $133,000. Finally, United Advisor Group LLC bought a new stake in Oracle in the 3rd quarter worth $610,000. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Oracle from $157.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $182.73.

Oracle Price Performance

NYSE:ORCL opened at $161.75 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $452.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. Oracle Co. has a 12-month low of $110.67 and a 12-month high of $198.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. The company’s 50-day moving average is $168.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $169.10.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The firm had revenue of $14.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.12 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.34 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.12%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at $207,331,027.20. This represents a 65.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 42.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Oracle

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.