NorthRock Partners LLC Has $5.25 Million Position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

NorthRock Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 172.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 31,497 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after buying an additional 19,918 shares during the quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC's holdings in Oracle were worth $5,249,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Requisite Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Requisite Capital Management LLC now owns 2,240 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $373,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp boosted its holdings in Oracle by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 5,447 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $908,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Warther Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Oracle by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Warther Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,621 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $603,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Howard Bailey Securities LLC boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on ORCL shares. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Oracle from $205.00 to $175.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Mizuho reduced their target price on Oracle from $210.00 to $180.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Westpark Capital initiated coverage on Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $195.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com lowered Oracle from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Oracle from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $174.42.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.81, for a total transaction of $291,620.00. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.77, for a total value of $648,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 58,090 shares in the company, valued at $7,538,339.30. This represents a 7.93% decrease in their position. 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. Corporate insiders own 42.20% of the company's stock.

Oracle Stock Performance

ORCL stock traded up $0.91 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $160.31. The company had a trading volume of 8,495,670 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,479,850. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $142.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $162.49. Oracle Co. has a fifty-two week low of $114.55 and a fifty-two week high of $198.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $448.39 billion, a PE ratio of 39.20, a P/E/G 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 business had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.40 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.41 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. This is an increase from Oracle's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.25%. Oracle's payout ratio is currently 46.95%.

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.