ZEGA Investments LLC Acquires New Holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

ZEGA Investments LLC bought a new position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 5,781 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,061,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Oracle by 89.7% in the 4th quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 184 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Oracle in the 4th quarter worth $34,000. TFC Financial Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Oracle by 129.0% during the 4th quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 213 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter worth $47,000. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Oracle news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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. This trade represents a 65.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on ORCL. BNP Paribas upgraded Oracle to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their price objective on Oracle from $214.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $220.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Oracle from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Oracle from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $179.20.

Oracle Stock Performance

Shares of Oracle stock opened at $152.83 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $164.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $169.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $427.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.37, a P/E/G 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.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.02). Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The business had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.40 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.41 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This is a boost from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.95%.

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.