Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Grows Holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 211,889 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,527 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $35,309,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Howard Capital Management Group LLC increased its holdings in Oracle by 12.4% during the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc boosted its stake in shares of Oracle by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 2,325,268 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $395,295,000 after buying an additional 53,128 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Oracle by 5.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,416,362 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $411,748,000 after buying an additional 121,874 shares during the last quarter. United Bank increased its stake in shares of Oracle by 4.8% in the third quarter. United Bank now owns 11,430 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,948,000 after buying an additional 519 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in Oracle by 7.5% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 10,767 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,835,000 after acquiring an additional 747 shares in the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 42.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Oracle Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ORCL opened at $144.29 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $166.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $169.62. The stock has a market cap of $403.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.28, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. 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 Co. has a fifty-two week low of $112.78 and a fifty-two week high of $198.31.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $14.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.40 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The company’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.41 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a positive change from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.12%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ORCL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. BNP Paribas raised shares of Oracle to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Oracle from $200.00 to $185.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Bank of America reduced their target price on Oracle from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on Oracle from $212.00 to $202.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $178.92.

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.