Howe & Rusling Inc. Has $1.05 Million Position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Howe & Rusling Inc. lifted its holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 24.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 6,284 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,250 shares during the quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $1,047,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ORCL. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Oracle in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Oracle by 89.7% in the 4th 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 purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. TFC Financial Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 129.0% during the fourth quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 213 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Finally, Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Oracle during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Price Performance

NYSE:ORCL opened at $147.71 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $413.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.12, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a 50-day moving average of $164.62 and a 200-day moving average of $170.28. Oracle Co. has a 52 week low of $112.78 and a 52 week high of $198.31. 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 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.41 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This is a positive change from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.35%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is 46.95%.

Insider Activity at Oracle

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 value of $389,448,893.90. Following the transaction, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on ORCL shares. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $150.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Barclays dropped their target price on Oracle from $212.00 to $202.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Oracle from $200.00 to $185.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada set a $145.00 price objective on shares of Oracle and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $179.20.

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.