Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. raised its holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 509.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 187,462 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after buying an additional 156,691 shares during the quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $31,239,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ORCL. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Oracle by 89.7% in the 4th quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 184 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the period. TFC Financial Management Inc. increased its stake in 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. Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. Finally, Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Stock Performance

Oracle stock opened at $161.91 on Tuesday. Oracle Co. has a 12-month low of $110.36 and a 12-month high of $198.31. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $168.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $169.01. 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 market capitalization of $452.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.59, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.05.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.48 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $14.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.12 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The company’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.34 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. Oracle’s payout ratio is 39.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In other news, CEO Safra Catz sold 345,174 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.56, for a total transaction of $64,050,487.44. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at $207,565,931.52. The trade was a 23.58 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on ORCL. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered shares of Oracle to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Oracle from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Oracle from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Oracle presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $182.73.

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.