3Chopt Investment Partners LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

3Chopt Investment Partners LLC grew its position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,196 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after buying an additional 94 shares during the quarter. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $1,699,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Oracle during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Oracle during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Oracle during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, TFC Financial Management Inc. boosted its position in Oracle by 129.0% in the 4th quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 213 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ORCL opened at $132.27 on Friday. Oracle Co. has a one year low of $112.78 and a one year high of $198.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $369.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.34, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $155.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $167.63. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.02). Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The company had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.40 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.41 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.51%. This is a positive change from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In other Oracle 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,331,027.20. The trade was a 65.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.81, for a total value of $291,620.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 34,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,049,400.30. This trade represents a 5.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 2,448,328 shares of company stock valued at $453,791,001. 42.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ORCL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Oracle from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. StockNews.com lowered Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Oracle from $220.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Oracle from $200.00 to $185.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $205.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Oracle currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $178.65.

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.