HF Advisory Group LLC Grows Holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

HF Advisory Group LLC increased its position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 16.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,579 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,475 shares during the quarter. Oracle makes up about 1.1% of HF Advisory Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. HF Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $2,458,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 157,411,949 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $26,231,127,000 after purchasing an additional 2,296,069 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in Oracle by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 38,002,902 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $6,332,803,000 after buying an additional 156,269 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Oracle by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,814,302 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $5,954,961,000 after buying an additional 619,619 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Oracle by 9.3% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 20,202,421 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $3,366,531,000 after purchasing an additional 1,722,037 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Oracle by 12.5% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 19,620,534 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $3,269,566,000 after buying an additional 2,176,892 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Price Performance

NYSE:ORCL opened at $168.17 on Thursday. 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 $470.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $145.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $160.87. Oracle Co. has a 1-year low of $118.86 and a 1-year high of $198.31.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.02). Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The firm had revenue of $14.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.40 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.41 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.19%. This is an increase from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.95%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 17,500 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 58,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,785,531.60. This represents a 23.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was 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 approximately $5,049,400.30. This represents a 5.46% 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 worth $4,015,723 over the last 90 days. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ORCL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Oracle from $200.00 to $185.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Bank of America dropped their target price on Oracle from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Westpark Capital started coverage on Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $195.00 price target for the company. Finally, Stephens assumed coverage on Oracle in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $167.00 price target for the company. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $174.42.

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.