Investment Partners Asset Management Inc. Buys 1,143 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Investment Partners Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 15.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,698 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,143 shares during the quarter. Oracle comprises approximately 1.1% of Investment Partners Asset Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Investment Partners Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $1,449,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Oracle in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC grew its position 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. TFC Financial Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Oracle by 129.0% in the fourth quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 213 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Oracle during the 3rd quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter worth about $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ORCL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup lifted their price target on Oracle from $157.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Oracle from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $165.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Evercore ISI raised their price target 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. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Oracle from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $182.73.

Oracle Price Performance

NYSE: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. The firm has a market cap of $481.92 billion, a PE ratio of 42.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.05. Oracle Co. has a 12 month low of $106.51 and a 12 month high of $198.31. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $169.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $165.29.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced 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). Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The business had revenue of $14.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.34 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. Oracle’s payout ratio is presently 39.12%.

Insider Activity 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 shares were sold at an average price of $185.56, for a total value of $64,050,487.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $207,565,931.52. This trade represents a 23.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.