Highland Capital Management LLC Grows Position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Highland Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 4.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 62,234 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,386 shares during the quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $10,371,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Oracle during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Oracle by 89.7% during the fourth quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 184 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the period. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Oracle during the third quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Avondale Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle in the third quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial acquired a new position in shares of Oracle during the third quarter worth $51,000. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Oracle Trading Down 1.1 %

ORCL opened at $162.22 on Thursday. Oracle Co. has a 52 week low of $106.51 and a 52 week high of $198.31. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $173.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $163.03. The company has a market capitalization of $453.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.66, a PEG ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 1.06. 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 (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by ($0.01). Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The company had revenue of $14.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.34 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.12%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.35, for a total transaction of $389,448,893.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $207,331,027.20. This trade represents 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 at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ORCL. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $205.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Monness Crespi & Hardt cut shares of Oracle from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $130.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price objective on shares of Oracle from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Oracle currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.