Hancock Whitney Corp Purchases 201 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Hancock Whitney Corp increased its position in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,814 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after buying an additional 201 shares during the period. Hancock Whitney Corp’s holdings in Oracle were worth $4,302,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Oracle by 89.7% in the fourth quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 184 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, TFC Financial Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 129.0% during the 4th quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 213 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In related news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 5,000 shares of the business’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 transaction, the director now owns 58,090 shares in the company, valued at $7,538,339.30. The trade was a 7.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.81, for a total value of $291,620.00. Following the sale, the director now 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Stock Performance

Shares of Oracle stock opened at $137.57 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $147.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $165.26. Oracle Co. has a fifty-two week low of $112.78 and a fifty-two week high of $198.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $384.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.64, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted 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). 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.41 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. 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 yield of 1.45%. Oracle’s payout ratio is presently 46.95%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on ORCL. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Oracle from $205.00 to $175.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded Oracle from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Fourteen equities 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $174.42.

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.