Benson Investment Management Company Inc. Purchases New Shares in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Benson Investment Management Company Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 30,953 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock, valued at approximately $4,328,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Capital & Planning LLC increased its stake in shares of Oracle by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Capital & Planning LLC now owns 15,727 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $2,621,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Oracle by 189.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 153,580 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $25,593,000 after buying an additional 100,494 shares in the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new stake in Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $51,084,000. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in Oracle by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,418 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $903,000 after acquiring an additional 404 shares during the period. Finally, R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Oracle during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on ORCL shares. Stephens started coverage on Oracle in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $167.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Oracle from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Oracle from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised shares of Oracle from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $130.00 price objective (down previously from $190.00) on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $174.42.

Oracle Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of ORCL traded up $3.06 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $171.16. The stock had a trading volume of 7,695,879 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,506,424. The firm has a market cap of $478.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $145.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $160.87. Oracle Co. has a twelve month low of $118.86 and a twelve month 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.

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

Oracle Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. This is an increase from Oracle's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.81, for a total transaction of $291,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 34,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,049,400.30. The trade was a 5.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.24, for a total value of $2,646,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 58,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,785,531.60. This trade represents a 23.15% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 27,366 shares of company stock valued at $4,015,723 over the last 90 days. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.