Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Raises Position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 231.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 69,647 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after purchasing an additional 48,635 shares during the quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Oracle were worth $11,606,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Oracle in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Oracle by 89.7% during the fourth quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 184 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, TFC Financial Management Inc. grew its holdings in Oracle by 129.0% in the 4th quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 213 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In other news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.81, for a total value of $291,620.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 34,630 shares in the company, valued at $5,049,400.30. This represents a 5.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 5,000 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.77, for a total value of $648,850.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 58,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,538,339.30. This represents a 7.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 42.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ORCL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $220.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Oracle from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. StockNews.com lowered Oracle from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Oracle in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, KeyCorp reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Oracle has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $174.42.

Oracle Price Performance

Shares of ORCL traded down $1.49 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $149.24. The company had a trading volume of 5,184,666 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,427,464. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. Oracle Co. has a 12-month low of $114.55 and a 12-month high of $198.31. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $143.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $163.56. The company has a market capitalization of $417.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.49, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.27.

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

Oracle Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.34%. This is a boost from Oracle's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.95%.

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.