FORA Capital LLC Acquires Shares of 20,365 Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

FORA Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 20,365 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,394,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ORCL. FWL Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Oracle by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. FWL Investment Management LLC now owns 54,944 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $9,156,000 after buying an additional 344 shares in the last quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Oracle by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. now owns 11,614 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $1,935,000 after purchasing an additional 663 shares during the period. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC grew its stake in Oracle by 16.8% during the 4th quarter. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC now owns 3,511 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $585,000 after purchasing an additional 504 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG increased its holdings in Oracle by 9.4% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 6,821,083 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $1,136,665,000 after purchasing an additional 585,560 shares during the period. Finally, Dimension Capital Management LLC raised its position in Oracle by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Dimension Capital Management LLC now owns 8,483 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $1,414,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 value of $2,646,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 58,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,785,531.60. This trade represents a 23.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 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 transaction of $428,552.98. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 31,764 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,749,670.92. This trade represents a 8.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 27,366 shares of company stock valued at $4,015,723 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 42.20% of the company's stock.

Oracle Trading Down 0.1 %

ORCL stock traded down $0.12 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $150.18. The stock had a trading volume of 4,698,183 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,455,271. The company's 50-day moving average price is $142.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $163.02. 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 firm has a market cap of $420.05 billion, a PE ratio of 36.72, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 released its earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.02). Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The business had revenue of $14.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.40 billion. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.41 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict 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. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.33%. Oracle's dividend payout ratio is 46.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on ORCL shares. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Oracle from $205.00 to $175.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Oracle from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Stephens began coverage on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $167.00 target price for the company. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and set a $205.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Oracle from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $174.42.

About Oracle

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.