Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC Purchases 401 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 0.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 123,764 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 401 shares during the quarter. Oracle comprises 1.5% of Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $20,621,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Oracle in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in 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 Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. TFC Financial Management Inc. increased 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 valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter worth approximately $47,000. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on ORCL shares. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Oracle from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Oracle from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $220.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on Oracle from $210.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their price objective on Oracle from $214.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.71.

Insider Activity

In other Oracle news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $207,331,027.20. The trade was a 65.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 42.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Oracle Stock Up 1.2 %

ORCL stock opened at $149.36 on Friday. Oracle Co. has a fifty-two week low of $112.78 and a fifty-two week high of $198.31. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $165.80 and a 200-day moving average of $169.63. The company has a market capitalization of $417.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.52, a PEG 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 posted its 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). The business had revenue of $14.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.40 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. Oracle’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.41 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share 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 issued a $0.50 dividend. 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 dividend yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.95%.

About Oracle

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.