Weitz Investment Management Inc. Has $34.59 Million Stock Holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Weitz Investment Management Inc. lowered its holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 3.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 207,575 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 7,125 shares during the quarter. Oracle accounts for about 1.8% of Weitz Investment Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Weitz Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $34,590,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Oracle in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. TFC Financial Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Oracle by 129.0% during 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 bought a new stake in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Oracle Stock Performance

ORCL stock opened at $142.05 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $162.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $170.02. Oracle Co. has a fifty-two week low of $112.78 and a fifty-two week high of $198.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $397.32 billion, a PE ratio of 34.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07.

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

Oracle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This is a positive change from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.95%.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.35, for a total transaction of $389,448,893.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $207,331,027.20. The trade was a 65.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on ORCL. Bank of America reduced their target price on Oracle from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised shares of Oracle from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Oracle from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on Oracle from $210.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Oracle has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.65.

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.