Meridian Financial Partners LLC Purchases 6,508 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Meridian Financial Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 481.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,861 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after purchasing an additional 6,508 shares during the period. Meridian Financial Partners LLC's holdings in Oracle were worth $1,099,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ORCL. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter worth about $2,216,314,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter worth about $930,095,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Oracle by 15,012.3% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,755,096 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $664,810,000 after buying an additional 4,723,631 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of Oracle by 20.5% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 13,825,360 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $2,303,858,000 after buying an additional 2,350,448 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Oracle by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 157,411,949 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $26,231,127,000 after buying an additional 2,296,069 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 42.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In related news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.81, for a total value of $291,620.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 34,630 shares in the company, valued at $5,049,400.30. The trade was a 5.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 17,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.24, for a total transaction of $2,646,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 58,090 shares in the company, valued at $8,785,531.60. This represents a 23.15% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 27,366 shares of company stock worth $4,015,723 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 42.20% of the company's stock.

Oracle Stock Performance

Shares of Oracle stock opened at $174.22 on Friday. Oracle Co. has a fifty-two week low of $118.86 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 firm has a market capitalization of $487.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.60, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.32. The company's 50 day moving average price is $147.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $160.46.

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 for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.02). Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The company had revenue of $14.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.41 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders 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 yield of 1.15%. This is a positive change from Oracle's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research note on Thursday. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price objective on shares of Oracle from $214.00 to $175.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Oracle from $205.00 to $175.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Oracle from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Oracle from $220.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $174.42.

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.

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