Willis Johnson & Associates Inc. Buys New Stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Willis Johnson & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 2,045 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock, valued at approximately $257,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. New Century Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Oracle by 9.5% during the first quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC now owns 5,466 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $687,000 after acquiring an additional 473 shares during the last quarter. Oak Harvest Investment Services increased its stake in Oracle by 211.1% during the 1st quarter. Oak Harvest Investment Services now owns 47,225 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $5,932,000 after purchasing an additional 32,046 shares in the last quarter. WealthBridge Investment Counsel Inc. increased its stake in Oracle by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. WealthBridge Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 82,775 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $10,397,000 after purchasing an additional 790 shares in the last quarter. Tempus Wealth Planning LLC increased its stake in Oracle by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Tempus Wealth Planning LLC now owns 12,054 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,514,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. increased its stake in Oracle by 14.4% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 48,044 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $6,035,000 after purchasing an additional 6,052 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In other news, insider Edward Screven sold 37,221 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.19, for a total value of $5,218,011.99. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,626,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $368,246,045.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, insider Edward Screven sold 37,221 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.19, for a total value of $5,218,011.99. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,626,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $368,246,045.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director George H. Conrades sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.00, for a total transaction of $2,320,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 17,836 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,068,976. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 385,639 shares of company stock valued at $53,002,729. Corporate insiders own 42.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on ORCL shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Oracle from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Oracle from $133.00 to $128.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 10th. HSBC upped their price target on shares of Oracle from $144.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Oracle from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $175.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $145.83.

Oracle Price Performance

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

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.65 by ($0.02). The company 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 revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.35 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast 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 paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 11th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.13%.

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.