2,939 Shares in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Bought by Novem Group

Novem Group bought a new stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 2,939 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock, valued at approximately $490,000.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Taylor Hoffman Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 13.1% during the fourth quarter. Taylor Hoffman Capital Management LLC now owns 2,412 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $402,000 after acquiring an additional 280 shares during the period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp boosted its stake in Oracle by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 518,716 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $86,439,000 after purchasing an additional 20,761 shares during the period. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC grew its position in Oracle by 44.0% in the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 45,756 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $7,625,000 after purchasing an additional 13,983 shares during the last quarter. First Heartland Consultants Inc. grew its position in Oracle by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. First Heartland Consultants Inc. now owns 1,762 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $294,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kolinsky Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Oracle by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Kolinsky Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,898 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $483,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the period. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Oracle news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 17,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.24, for a total transaction of $2,646,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.81, for a total value of $291,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 34,630 shares in the company, valued at $5,049,400.30. This represents a 5.46% 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 90 days. 42.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ORCL has been the subject of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Oracle from $205.00 to $175.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Westpark Capital initiated coverage on Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a "buy" rating and a $195.00 price target for the company. Stephens started coverage on Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $167.00 price target for the company. UBS Group restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, 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 report on Tuesday, March 11th. Fourteen equities research 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $174.42.

Oracle Price Performance

Shares of ORCL traded up $5.88 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $161.85. 2,968,158 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,484,126. 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 company has a market capitalization of $452.67 billion, a PE ratio of 39.58, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.27. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $143.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $161.60. Oracle Co. has a one year low of $114.55 and a one year high of $198.31.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 EPS 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 net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.41 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were given a $0.50 dividend. This is an increase from Oracle's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. Oracle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.