Financial Advisory Partners LLC Sells 723 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Financial Advisory Partners LLC lowered its holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 27,846 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 723 shares during the period. Oracle makes up about 1.5% of Financial Advisory Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Financial Advisory Partners LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $4,640,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in ORCL. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Oracle during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Oracle by 89.7% in the 4th quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 184 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $44,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. Finally, Avondale Wealth Management bought a new position in Oracle in the third quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Stock Up 2.2 %

ORCL opened at $171.52 on Thursday. Oracle Co. has a fifty-two week low of $106.51 and a fifty-two week high of $198.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $479.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.94, a PEG ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 1.05. The company’s 50-day moving average is $171.05 and its 200 day moving average is $164.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its earnings results on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.48 by ($0.01). The firm 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%. Oracle’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.34 EPS. Research analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 23rd were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on ORCL shares. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Oracle from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Monness Crespi & Hardt downgraded Oracle from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $130.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Friday, December 20th. BNP Paribas upgraded Oracle to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of Oracle from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Oracle from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $182.73.

Insider Activity at Oracle

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