Natural Investments LLC Invests $877,000 in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Natural Investments LLC acquired a new position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 5,268 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock, valued at approximately $877,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Activest Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Oracle by 21.9% during the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 312 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. Second Line Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Oracle by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Second Line Capital LLC now owns 3,816 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $650,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. Cadence Bank raised its position in shares of Oracle by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Cadence Bank now owns 7,605 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,296,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. Requisite Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 60 shares during the period. Finally, Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 60 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Oracle

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

Oracle Price Performance

NYSE ORCL opened at $144.29 on Wednesday. Oracle Co. has a 52 week low of $112.78 and a 52 week high of $198.31. 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 stock has a market cap of $403.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $166.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $169.62.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $14.13 billion during 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%. The company’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.41 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This is a positive change from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.39%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.12%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ORCL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. BNP Paribas raised Oracle to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their target price on Oracle from $214.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Oracle from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $178.92.

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.