Southern Style Financial Inc. Buys New Holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Southern Style Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,973 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock, valued at approximately $329,000. Oracle accounts for approximately 0.3% of Southern Style Financial Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest holding.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BSW Wealth Partners grew its stake in Oracle by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. BSW Wealth Partners now owns 10,550 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,758,000 after buying an additional 440 shares during the last quarter. Falcon Wealth Planning boosted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Falcon Wealth Planning now owns 2,600 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $433,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the period. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 18,540 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $3,090,000 after acquiring an additional 966 shares during the period. Aspire Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Oracle by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Aspire Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,977 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $329,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stonegate Investment Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Oracle by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 92,221 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $15,368,000 after purchasing an additional 282 shares during the period. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Oracle Trading Up 3.7 %

NYSE ORCL opened at $164.12 on Wednesday. Oracle Co. has a twelve month low of $106.51 and a twelve month high of $198.31. The business’s fifty day moving average is $173.85 and its 200 day moving average is $162.89. 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 company has a market cap of $459.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 1.06.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its quarterly earnings data 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). Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The firm had revenue of $14.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.34 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 23rd were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.97%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is 39.12%.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.35, for a total value of $389,448,893.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $207,331,027.20. The trade was a 65.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on ORCL shares. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Oracle from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Oracle from $173.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $165.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Oracle from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on shares of Oracle in a research report on Friday, January 17th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $214.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $182.73.

About Oracle

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.