Lighthouse Financial LLC Takes Position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Lighthouse Financial LLC purchased a new position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 3,440 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock, valued at approximately $573,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ORCL. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Oracle during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, TFC Financial Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In other Oracle news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.77, for a total transaction of $648,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 58,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,538,339.30. This trade represents a 7.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,866 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.53, for a total transaction of $428,552.98. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 31,764 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,749,670.92. The trade was a 8.28% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 27,366 shares of company stock valued at $4,015,723 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 42.20% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on ORCL shares. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Oracle from $200.00 to $185.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded shares of Oracle from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Oracle from $205.00 to $175.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. UBS Group reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, DA Davidson decreased their price target on Oracle from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $174.42.

Oracle Stock Up 1.3%

ORCL stock traded up $2.06 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $163.97. The company's stock had a trading volume of 8,077,633 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,504,402. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $144.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $161.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $458.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.09, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.27. 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 Co. has a 52-week low of $114.55 and a 52-week high of $198.31.

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 for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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%. Oracle's revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.41 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. This is an increase from Oracle's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle's payout ratio is currently 46.95%.

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.