Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Buys 3,166 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management boosted its position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 4.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 81,382 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,166 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in Oracle were worth $8,580,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Apollon Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Oracle by 108.8% during the 4th quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 62,733 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $6,614,000 after buying an additional 32,684 shares in the last quarter. Lincoln National Corp increased its position in Oracle by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. Lincoln National Corp now owns 43,911 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $4,630,000 after purchasing an additional 2,557 shares during the period. Fielder Capital Group LLC purchased a new stake in Oracle in the fourth quarter worth about $478,000. Machina Capital S.A.S. boosted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 91.9% during the 4th quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S. now owns 14,274 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,505,000 after buying an additional 6,837 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 120,115 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $12,664,000 after purchasing an additional 2,996 shares during the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ORCL. KeyCorp initiated coverage on shares of Oracle in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $150.00 price target for the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Oracle from $126.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Oracle from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Argus raised shares of Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, HSBC increased their price objective on shares of Oracle from $144.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $130.76.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In other Oracle news, Director George H. Conrades sold 25,000 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.13, for a total value of $2,903,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 17,836 shares in the company, valued at $2,071,294.68. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 790,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.54, for a total transaction of $99,966,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $141,546,631.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director George H. Conrades sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.13, for a total value of $2,903,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,836 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,071,294.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 835,000 shares of company stock worth $105,189,850. 42.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Oracle Stock Performance

Oracle stock traded up $2.54 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $118.34. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,301,334 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,261,409. Oracle Co. has a twelve month low of $96.10 and a twelve month high of $132.77. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $120.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $113.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.34. The firm has a market cap of $325.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.22, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.03.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its earnings results on Monday, March 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $13.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.29 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 20.27% and a return on equity of 336.11%. Oracle’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.96 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 24th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.35%. Oracle’s payout ratio is presently 42.22%.

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.