Willner & Heller LLC Makes New Investment in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Willner & Heller LLC purchased a new position in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,821 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock, valued at approximately $297,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in ORCL. Gerber LLC bought a new stake in shares of Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at about $780,000. Fortis Group Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Oracle by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 426 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Northwest Bank & Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter valued at $2,062,000. Vima LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle in the 4th quarter worth $60,000. Finally, Creekmur Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Oracle during the 4th quarter worth $154,000. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Oracle Trading Down 1.2 %

NYSE:ORCL traded down $1.72 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $138.13. The company had a trading volume of 11,330,789 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,730,886. Oracle Co. has a 1 year low of $99.26 and a 1 year high of $142.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.25. The company has a 50-day moving average of $121.04 and a 200 day moving average of $116.13. The company has a market cap of $379.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.01.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by ($0.02). Oracle had a net margin of 19.76% and a return on equity of 223.01%. The business had revenue of $14.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.57 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.35 EPS. Oracle’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 11th will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 11th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.13%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Oracle from $126.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on Oracle from $159.00 to $171.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. StockNews.com lowered shares of Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 6th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Oracle from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Oracle from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $141.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Oracle news, Director George H. Conrades sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.13, for a total transaction of $2,903,250.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 17,836 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,071,294.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, Director George H. Conrades sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.13, for a total value of $2,903,250.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 17,836 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,071,294.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael J. Boskin sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.74, for a total transaction of $5,298,300.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 87,473 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,299,071.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 880,000 shares of company stock worth $110,488,150 over the last three months. Company insiders own 42.80% of the company’s stock.

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.