Emerald Advisers LLC Takes Position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Emerald Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 2,644 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock, valued at approximately $441,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ORCL. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 5.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,416,362 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $411,748,000 after purchasing an additional 121,874 shares in the last quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Oracle by 201.7% during the 4th quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,599 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $266,000 after purchasing an additional 1,069 shares during the last quarter. RMR Wealth Builders lifted its stake in Oracle by 383.4% in the 4th quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 7,155 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,192,000 after buying an additional 5,675 shares in the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Oracle by 24.8% during the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 164,593 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $27,428,000 after buying an additional 32,718 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Oracle during the fourth quarter worth $1,800,000. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Oracle news, CEO Safra Catz sold 345,174 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.56, for a total value of $64,050,487.44. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at $207,565,931.52. The trade was a 23.58 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 42.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada set a $145.00 price objective on Oracle and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Oracle from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Oracle from $205.00 to $175.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Oracle from $200.00 to $185.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Oracle from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $179.20.

Oracle Price Performance

ORCL opened at $152.83 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $164.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $170.27. Oracle Co. has a 52-week low of $112.78 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 company has a market cap of $427.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.37, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $14.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.40 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.41 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This is a positive change from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.31%. Oracle’s payout ratio is 46.95%.

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.