Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Increases Stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 8.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 37,881 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,810 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $6,312,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wealth Group Ltd. purchased a new stake in Oracle during the 3rd quarter valued at $222,000. Howard Capital Management Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Oracle by 12.4% in 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 period. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Oracle by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 1,579 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $269,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc lifted its position in shares of Oracle by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 2,325,268 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $395,295,000 after purchasing an additional 53,128 shares during the period. Finally, Rational Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle in the 3rd quarter worth about $2,641,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on ORCL shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Oracle from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Oracle from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of Oracle from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $182.73.

Oracle Stock Performance

ORCL opened at $157.24 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. The company has a market cap of $439.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.44, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.05. The company’s 50 day moving average is $168.50 and its 200 day moving average is $169.15. Oracle Co. has a 12-month low of $110.36 and a 12-month high of $198.31.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $14.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.12 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.34 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 23rd were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. Oracle’s payout ratio is 39.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

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

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.