Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC Invests $290,000 in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new position 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 & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,742 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock, valued at approximately $290,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Oracle by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. now owns 1,423 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $237,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp grew its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. Warther Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Oracle by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Warther Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,621 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $603,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Howard Bailey Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Oracle by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Howard Bailey Securities LLC now owns 2,274 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $379,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. Finally, New England Capital Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Oracle by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. New England Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,061 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $177,000 after buying an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America cut their price objective on Oracle from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Oracle from $220.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 31st. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Oracle from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Stephens initiated coverage on Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $167.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reduced 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. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Oracle currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $174.42.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In related news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.81, for a total transaction of $291,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 34,630 shares in the company, valued at $5,049,400.30. The trade was a 5.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 17,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $8,785,531.60. This represents a 23.15% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 27,366 shares of company stock worth $4,015,723 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 42.20% of the company's stock.

Oracle Stock Performance

Shares of ORCL traded up $2.08 on Friday, reaching $164.98. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,003,343 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,492,842. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $144.32 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $161.43. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $461.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.33, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.27. 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 posted its earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share 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 business's revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.41 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share 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 paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.21%. This is an increase from Oracle's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. Oracle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.95%.

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.