Oak Asset Management LLC Lowers Stock Position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Oak Asset Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 36,675 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 225 shares during the period. Oracle makes up about 2.3% of Oak Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Oak Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $6,112,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Oracle by 5.3% during 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. RMR Wealth Builders lifted its position in shares of Oracle by 383.4% during the 4th quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 7,155 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,192,000 after buying an additional 5,675 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. grew its position in Oracle by 15.3% in the second quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 24,800 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $3,502,000 after acquiring an additional 3,300 shares during the period. Chase Investment Counsel Corp acquired a new position in Oracle during the third quarter worth $4,160,000. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 79.6% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 286,460 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $48,813,000 after acquiring an additional 126,985 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on ORCL shares. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Oracle from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Oracle from $173.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Melius raised Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, September 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $181.48.

Oracle Price Performance

Shares of ORCL stock opened at $153.73 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $429.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.06. Oracle Co. has a 12-month low of $105.42 and a 12-month high of $198.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $177.30 and a 200-day moving average of $161.13.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by ($0.01). Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The business had revenue of $14.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.34 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.04%. Oracle’s payout ratio is 39.12%.

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.