Howard Bailey Securities LLC Boosts Stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Howard Bailey Securities LLC grew its stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 2.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,274 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the quarter. Howard Bailey Securities LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $379,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Oracle by 5.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,416,362 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $411,748,000 after buying an additional 121,874 shares in the last quarter. RMR Wealth Builders grew its stake in Oracle by 383.4% in the 4th quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 7,155 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,192,000 after acquiring an additional 5,675 shares during the period. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Oracle by 24.8% in the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 164,593 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $27,428,000 after acquiring an additional 32,718 shares during the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter worth $1,800,000. Finally, Chase Investment Counsel Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle during the third quarter worth $4,160,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Stock Performance

ORCL opened at $172.30 on Thursday. 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 fifty-two week low of $106.51 and a fifty-two week high of $198.31. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $170.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $165.24. The firm has a market cap of $481.92 billion, a PE ratio of 42.13, a P/E/G ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.05.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its earnings results on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.48 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $14.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.12 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The business’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.34 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 23rd were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.12%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on ORCL. Mizuho increased their target price on Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of Oracle from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $165.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $182.73.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 345,174 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at $207,565,931.52. This trade represents a 23.58 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 42.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.