Appleton Partners Inc. MA Buys 1,434 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Appleton Partners Inc. MA raised its stake in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 31.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 5,923 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,434 shares during the quarter. Appleton Partners Inc. MA’s holdings in Oracle were worth $987,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ORCL. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Oracle by 89.7% in the 4th quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 184 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Oracle during the 3rd quarter worth $44,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at $47,000. Finally, Avondale Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle in the 3rd quarter valued at $51,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were 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 directly owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at $207,331,027.20. This represents a 65.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Oracle Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of ORCL stock opened at $174.53 on Friday. Oracle Co. has a 12-month low of $106.51 and a 12-month high of $198.31. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $170.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $164.11. 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 company has a market capitalization of $488.15 billion, a PE ratio of 42.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 1.05.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its quarterly 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). The business had revenue of $14.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.12 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The company’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.34 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. Oracle’s payout ratio is presently 39.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ORCL. BNP Paribas raised Oracle to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on shares of Oracle in a research note on Friday, January 17th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $214.00 target price on the stock. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Oracle from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Oracle currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $182.73.

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.