HM Payson & Co. Has $43.07 Million Stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

HM Payson & Co. decreased its holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 0.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 258,458 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 465 shares during the period. HM Payson & Co.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $43,069,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Oracle in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Oracle by 89.7% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Oracle in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. TFC Financial Management Inc. raised its stake in Oracle by 129.0% in the 4th quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 213 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Oracle in the 4th quarter worth about $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Oracle news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the firm’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 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 42.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on ORCL shares. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded shares of Oracle from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Oracle from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price 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. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $220.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $182.73.

Oracle Stock Up 3.3 %

Oracle stock opened at $155.89 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $436.01 billion, a PE ratio of 38.11, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. Oracle Co. has a 12-month low of $111.18 and a 12-month high of $198.31. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $167.63 and its 200 day moving average is $169.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its 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 return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.34 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.12%.

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.