Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC Raises Holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 22.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 14,740 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,740 shares during the period. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $2,456,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Requisite Capital Management LLC raised its position in Oracle by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Requisite Capital Management LLC now owns 2,240 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $373,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. raised its position in Oracle by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. now owns 1,423 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $237,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp raised its position in Oracle by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 5,447 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $908,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Warther Private Wealth LLC raised its position in Oracle by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Warther Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,621 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $603,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Howard Bailey Securities LLC raised its position in shares of Oracle by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Howard Bailey Securities LLC now owns 2,274 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $379,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Stock Performance

Shares of ORCL opened at $162.29 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $142.26 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $162.76. 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 $114.55 and a 12 month high of $198.31. The company has a market cap of $453.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.68, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.27.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $14.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.40 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.41 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is an increase from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. Oracle’s payout ratio is currently 46.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com lowered Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Oracle from $220.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $130.00 target price (down previously from $190.00) on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Oracle from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their target price on Oracle from $214.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $174.42.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In related news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.81, for a total transaction of $291,620.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 34,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,049,400.30. The trade was a 5.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 17,500 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.24, for a total value of $2,646,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 58,090 shares in the company, valued at $8,785,531.60. This trade represents a 23.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 27,366 shares of company stock worth $4,015,723 in the last three months. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.