Grove Bank & Trust Increases Stock Position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Grove Bank & Trust increased its position in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 34.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 28,318 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,327 shares during the quarter. Grove Bank & Trust’s holdings in Oracle were worth $4,719,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ORCL. Winch Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Oracle by 89.7% during the 4th quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 184 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Oracle during the third quarter worth about $44,000. Avondale Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Oracle during the third quarter worth about $51,000. Friedenthal Financial bought a new stake in Oracle in the third quarter worth about $51,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management boosted its stake in Oracle by 21.9% in the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 312 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Oracle Trading Up 0.9 %

NYSE ORCL opened at $161.05 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $450.44 billion, a PE ratio of 39.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.06. Oracle Co. has a 1-year low of $106.51 and a 1-year high of $198.31. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $175.44 and a 200-day moving average of $161.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $14.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.12 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.34 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5.01 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.99%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.12%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ORCL. DA Davidson increased their price target on Oracle from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of Oracle from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $165.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Oracle from $157.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Oracle from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $182.73.

Oracle Company 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.