Putney Financial Group LLC Buys New Stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

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

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Requisite Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Oracle by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Requisite Capital Management LLC now owns 2,240 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $373,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. lifted its position in Oracle by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. now owns 1,423 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $237,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. McLean Asset Management Corp lifted its position in Oracle by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 5,447 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $908,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the period. Warther Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in Oracle by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Warther Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,621 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $603,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. Finally, Howard Bailey Securities LLC lifted its position in Oracle by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Howard Bailey Securities LLC now owns 2,274 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $379,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 42.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In other news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 17,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the director now owns 58,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,785,531.60. This represents a 23.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.53, for a total value of $428,552.98. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 31,764 shares in the company, valued at $4,749,670.92. This represents a 8.28% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 27,366 shares of company stock valued at $4,015,723. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Oracle Trading Up 3.8%

NYSE ORCL traded up $5.87 on Tuesday, reaching $161.84. The stock had a trading volume of 6,969,407 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,499,682. The firm has a market capitalization of $452.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.57, a P/E/G 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 12-month low of $114.55 and a 12-month high of $198.31. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $143.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $161.60.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.02). The firm 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 for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.41 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The company 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. This is a positive change from Oracle's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.24%. Oracle's payout ratio is presently 46.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ORCL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Bank of America lowered their price target on Oracle from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Oracle from $194.00 to $160.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, KeyCorp reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.