Cornerstone Advisory LLC Grows Stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Cornerstone Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 34.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,968 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,299 shares during the period. Cornerstone Advisory LLC's holdings in Oracle were worth $2,258,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. grew its position in Oracle by 201.7% in the fourth quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,599 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $266,000 after acquiring an additional 1,069 shares during the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Oracle by 24.8% in the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 164,593 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $27,428,000 after acquiring an additional 32,718 shares during the period. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,800,000. Boston Trust Walden Corp boosted its holdings in Oracle by 40.8% in the fourth quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 564,030 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $93,990,000 after acquiring an additional 163,543 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CENTRAL TRUST Co increased its position in Oracle by 10.8% during the 4th quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 43,851 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $7,307,000 after purchasing an additional 4,259 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 42.44% of the company's stock.

Oracle Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of ORCL stock traded down $1.27 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $156.04. The company had a trading volume of 6,526,074 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,509,817. 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 cap of $436.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.27. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $143.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $161.83. Oracle Co. has a 12 month low of $114.55 and a 12 month 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 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.02). Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The business had revenue of $14.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.40 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.41 EPS. Oracle's quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.28%. This is a positive change from Oracle's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Oracle from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Oracle from $194.00 to $160.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. UBS Group restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Oracle from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Oracle from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Fourteen 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Oracle has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $174.42.

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.