Montag A & Associates Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Montag A & Associates Inc. increased its position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 3.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 27,925 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,009 shares during the period. Montag A & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $2,944,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ethos Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 15.2% during the fourth quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC now owns 4,474 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $472,000 after purchasing an additional 591 shares during the last quarter. Vestor Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Oracle by 31.7% in the 4th quarter. Vestor Capital LLC now owns 130,275 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $13,735,000 after buying an additional 31,368 shares during the last quarter. Selway Asset Management grew its holdings in shares of Oracle by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Selway Asset Management now owns 37,230 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $3,925,000 after acquiring an additional 430 shares during the period. Abacus Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in Oracle by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Abacus Wealth Partners LLC now owns 20,536 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $2,165,000 after acquiring an additional 570 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advantage Trust Co bought a new position in Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at about $177,000. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Oracle Price Performance

ORCL traded down $0.82 during trading on Thursday, hitting $116.57. 3,236,172 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,150,866. The company has a market cap of $320.39 billion, a PE ratio of 30.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.03. Oracle Co. has a 1 year low of $96.26 and a 1 year high of $132.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.34. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $120.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $113.59.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its earnings results on Monday, March 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.04. Oracle had a return on equity of 336.11% and a net margin of 20.27%. The firm had revenue of $13.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.29 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.96 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 24th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.37%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.22%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 value of $2,903,250.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 17,836 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,071,294.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, Director George H. Conrades sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.00, for a total transaction of $2,320,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 17,836 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,068,976. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director George H. Conrades sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was 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 $2,071,294.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 880,000 shares of company stock worth $110,488,150 in the last ninety days. 42.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on ORCL. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Oracle from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. HSBC increased their price target on shares of Oracle from $144.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Oracle from $126.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 12th. Finally, William Blair upgraded Oracle from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 12th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Oracle currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $130.76.

Oracle 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.