West Branch Capital LLC Increases Stock Position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

West Branch Capital LLC increased its stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 5.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 39,582 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,134 shares during the quarter. Oracle makes up 1.8% of West Branch Capital LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. West Branch Capital LLC's holdings in Oracle were worth $5,534,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital & Planning LLC grew its holdings in shares of Oracle by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Capital & Planning LLC now owns 15,727 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $2,621,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Oracle by 189.3% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 153,580 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $25,593,000 after buying an additional 100,494 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at about $51,084,000. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in Oracle by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,418 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $903,000 after buying an additional 404 shares during the period. Finally, Stanley Laman Group Ltd. raised its position in shares of Oracle by 11.4% during the fourth quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. now owns 2,876 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $479,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares during the period. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Oracle Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ORCL traded up $15.68 during trading on Friday, hitting $215.54. 53,639,099 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,721,350. Oracle Co. has a 12-month low of $118.86 and a 12-month high of $216.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $152.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $160.46. The company has a market cap of $602.86 billion, a PE ratio of 52.70, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.32.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.64 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $15.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.58 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The firm's revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.63 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. Oracle's dividend payout ratio is currently 46.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Oracle news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of the business'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 sale, the director now owns 34,630 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,049,400.30. The trade was a 5.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Vice Chairman Jeffrey Henley sold 400,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.42, for a total transaction of $76,168,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 1,097,576 shares of the company's stock, valued at $209,000,421.92. The trade was a 26.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 427,366 shares of company stock valued at $80,183,723 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 42.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Oracle from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $200.00 to $235.00 in a report on Friday. KeyCorp lifted their target price on Oracle from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley reissued a "positive" rating on shares of Oracle in a report on Monday, June 9th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Oracle from $145.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $130.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a report on Wednesday. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $194.32.

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.