Putney Financial Group LLC Purchases New Holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Putney Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,840 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock, valued at approximately $307,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Oracle by 201.7% during the 4th quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,599 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $266,000 after acquiring an additional 1,069 shares in the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Oracle by 24.8% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Oracle during the 4th quarter worth about $1,800,000. Boston Trust Walden Corp lifted its stake in Oracle by 40.8% during the 4th quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 564,030 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $93,990,000 after acquiring an additional 163,543 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CENTRAL TRUST Co lifted its stake in Oracle by 10.8% during the 4th quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 43,851 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $7,307,000 after acquiring an additional 4,259 shares in the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Oracle Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ORCL traded down $1.52 on Thursday, hitting $162.33. The company had a trading volume of 3,218,994 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,479,981. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick 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. The business has a 50 day moving average of $144.16 and a 200 day moving average of $161.61. The company has a market cap of $454.04 billion, a PE ratio of 39.76, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.27.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). The company had revenue of $14.13 billion during 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 firm's revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.41 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This is a positive change from Oracle's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. Oracle's dividend payout ratio is presently 46.95%.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In other Oracle news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now directly owns 34,630 shares in the company, valued at $5,049,400.30. This represents a 5.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 17,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.24, for a total value of $2,646,700.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 58,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,785,531.60. This represents a 23.15% 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 worth $4,015,723. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ORCL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their target price on Oracle from $214.00 to $175.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Westpark Capital started coverage on Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a "buy" rating and a $195.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Oracle from $220.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Stephens started coverage on Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $167.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Mizuho cut their price target on Oracle from $210.00 to $180.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Oracle currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $174.42.

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.