West Financial Advisors LLC Raises Stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

West Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 66.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,289 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after buying an additional 912 shares during the quarter. West Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $381,000 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. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in Oracle during the second quarter valued at $40,000. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 6.6% in the 2nd quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 28,203 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $3,982,000 after acquiring an additional 1,745 shares in the last quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 32.2% in the 2nd quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 26,279 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $3,711,000 after acquiring an additional 6,406 shares in the last quarter. Meridian Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Oracle by 5.7% during the 2nd quarter. Meridian Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,740 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $387,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Argent Trust Co grew its holdings in shares of Oracle by 7.2% during the second quarter. Argent Trust Co now owns 104,852 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $14,805,000 after purchasing an additional 7,025 shares in the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Oracle Price Performance

ORCL opened at $158.35 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $442.90 billion, a PE ratio of 38.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.06. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $176.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $161.24. Oracle Co. has a 52-week low of $105.42 and a 52-week high of $198.31.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by ($0.01). Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The company had revenue of $14.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.34 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5.01 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.01%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on ORCL. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $165.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Oracle to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Oracle from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.48.

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.