Borer Denton & Associates Inc. Buys 2,290 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Borer Denton & Associates Inc. increased its stake in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 4.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 59,124 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,290 shares during the quarter. Oracle comprises approximately 3.4% of Borer Denton & Associates Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Borer Denton & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $9,852,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Oracle in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Oracle by 89.7% during the fourth quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 184 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. TFC Financial Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 129.0% in the 4th quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 213 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Finally, Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at about $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the company’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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,331,027.20. This represents a 65.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ORCL. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Oracle from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Oracle from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Oracle from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Oracle from $205.00 to $175.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $179.20.

Oracle Trading Down 0.8 %

NYSE ORCL opened at $153.59 on Wednesday. Oracle Co. has a one year low of $112.78 and a one year high of $198.31. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $164.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $170.44. The company has a market capitalization of $429.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81.

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

Oracle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. 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 yield of 1.30%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.