Laidlaw Wealth Management LLC Lowers Position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Laidlaw Wealth Management LLC decreased its stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 23.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,716 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 822 shares during the period. Laidlaw Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $453,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wealth Group Ltd. purchased a new stake in Oracle in the third quarter valued at approximately $222,000. Howard Capital Management Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Oracle by 12.4% during the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 8,019 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,366,000 after purchasing an additional 883 shares in the last quarter. GFG Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Oracle by 9.4% during the third quarter. GFG Capital LLC now owns 21,058 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $3,588,000 after purchasing an additional 1,816 shares in the last quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Oracle by 9.1% in the third quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,674 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,137,000 after acquiring an additional 559 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Telos Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Oracle by 1.9% in the third quarter. Telos Capital Management Inc. now owns 51,549 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $8,784,000 after acquiring an additional 968 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In other news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $207,331,027.20. This represents a 65.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ORCL opened at $179.78 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $502.85 billion, a PE ratio of 43.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 1.05. Oracle Co. has a fifty-two week low of $106.51 and a fifty-two week high of $198.31. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $169.03 and a 200-day moving average of $166.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81.

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 the consensus estimate of $14.12 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.34 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.89%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.12%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on ORCL. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on shares of Oracle in a report on Friday, January 17th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $214.00 target price on the stock. Guggenheim upped their price target on shares of Oracle from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered shares of Oracle from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $130.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Friday, December 20th. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Oracle from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Oracle from $157.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. One 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average 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.