Hills Bank & Trust Co Grows Stock Position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Hills Bank & Trust Co lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 38,525 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 157 shares during the period. Hills Bank & Trust Co’s holdings in Oracle were worth $6,420,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. J. L. Bainbridge & Co. Inc. raised its stake in Oracle by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. J. L. Bainbridge & Co. Inc. now owns 1,354 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $226,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Buckley Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Oracle by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Buckley Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,565 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,261,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the period. First National Trust Co raised its stake in shares of Oracle by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. First National Trust Co now owns 64,112 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $10,684,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares during the last quarter. Sienna Gestion lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 1,051.7% during the fourth quarter. Sienna Gestion now owns 38,915 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $6,484,000 after purchasing an additional 35,536 shares during the period. Finally, Hilton Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Oracle by 2,049.7% in the 4th quarter. Hilton Capital Management LLC now owns 56,257 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $9,375,000 after buying an additional 53,640 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Price Performance

Oracle stock opened at $149.36 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $417.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.52, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $165.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $169.41. 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.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.40 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.41 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. This is a boost from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.12%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,331,027.20. This represents a 65.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded shares of Oracle from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. BNP Paribas raised shares of Oracle to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Oracle from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $150.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of Oracle from $212.00 to $202.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $179.71.

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.