ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC Boosts Stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC lifted its stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 16.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,465 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 341 shares during the period. ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $345,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ORCL. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle in the 4th quarter worth $34,000. TFC Financial Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Oracle by 129.0% in the 4th quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 213 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle in the 4th quarter worth $36,000. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Oracle Stock Up 1.8%

ORCL opened at $174.22 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. Oracle Co. has a 52 week low of $118.86 and a 52 week high of $198.31. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $147.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $160.46. The company has a market capitalization of $487.29 billion, a PE ratio of 42.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.32.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 EPS 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 business had revenue of $14.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.40 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.41 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This is an increase from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.15%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on ORCL. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Oracle from $212.00 to $202.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their target price on shares of Oracle from $214.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Oracle from $194.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Oracle from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Oracle from $205.00 to $175.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $174.42.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In other Oracle news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 17,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 58,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,785,531.60. This trade represents a 23.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 sale, the director now directly owns 34,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,049,400.30. The trade was a 5.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 27,366 shares of company stock valued at $4,015,723. Insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

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.