WealthBridge Investment Counsel Inc. Acquires 790 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

WealthBridge Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 1.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 82,775 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after buying an additional 790 shares during the quarter. Oracle accounts for approximately 3.9% of WealthBridge Investment Counsel Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. WealthBridge Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $10,397,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ORCL. Contour Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Oracle by 41.5% during the fourth quarter. Contour Asset Management LLC now owns 2,192,950 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $231,203,000 after purchasing an additional 643,490 shares in the last quarter. Sandy Spring Bank increased its stake in shares of Oracle by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 78,049 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $8,229,000 after purchasing an additional 1,107 shares during the period. Hancock Whitney Corp raised its stake in shares of Oracle by 12.7% during the fourth quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 29,301 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $3,089,000 after purchasing an additional 3,291 shares in the last quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI increased its position in shares of Oracle by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI now owns 5,986 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $631,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Heritage Wealth Advisors raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Heritage Wealth Advisors now owns 16,995 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,792,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In related news, insider Edward Screven sold 235,918 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.30, for a total value of $34,042,967.40. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,626,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $379,042,045.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Edward Screven sold 235,918 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.30, for a total transaction of $34,042,967.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,626,764 shares in the company, valued at $379,042,045.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Michael J. Boskin sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.74, for a total value of $5,298,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 87,473 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,299,071.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 385,639 shares of company stock valued at $53,002,729 in the last quarter. 42.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Oracle Trading Up 0.8 %

ORCL stock traded up $1.10 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $144.38. 3,560,778 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,810,036. The firm has a market capitalization of $397.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.25, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.71. The business has a 50 day moving average of $126.95 and a 200-day moving average of $118.95. Oracle Co. has a 52-week low of $99.26 and a 52-week high of $145.32.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.65 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $14.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.57 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 19.76% and a return on equity of 223.01%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.35 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 11th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 11th. Oracle’s payout ratio is presently 43.13%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ORCL. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Oracle from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Oracle from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on Oracle from $159.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Oracle from $144.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $175.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $145.83.

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.