StoneX Group Inc. Invests $1.77 Million in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

StoneX Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 10,611 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,768,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Oracle during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Oracle by 89.7% in the fourth quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 184 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. TFC Financial Management Inc. lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Oracle in the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. 42.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity 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 value 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. The trade was a 65.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Oracle Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE ORCL opened at $142.05 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $162.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $170.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. Oracle Co. has a fifty-two week low of $112.78 and a fifty-two week high of $198.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $397.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.73, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07.

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

Oracle Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 dividend yield of 1.41%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is 46.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on ORCL shares. KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. BNP Paribas raised Oracle to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $220.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Oracle from $205.00 to $175.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.65.

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.