VSM Wealth Advisory LLC Buys New Shares in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 595 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock, valued at approximately $99,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Oracle by 89.7% during the fourth 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 period. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. TFC Financial Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Oracle by 129.0% in the fourth quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 213 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Finally, Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter worth about $47,000. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Oracle Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE ORCL opened at $152.40 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $426.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.26, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. Oracle Co. has a 12 month low of $112.78 and a 12 month high of $198.31. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $165.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $169.89.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $14.13 billion for 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%. Oracle’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.41 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.31%. This is a positive change from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle’s payout ratio is currently 46.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the business’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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,331,027.20. The trade was a 65.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Oracle from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. UBS Group reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. BNP Paribas upgraded Oracle to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Oracle from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $179.20.

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.