Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC Decreases Stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 6.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,099 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 564 shares during the quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $1,350,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ORCL. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its stake in shares of Oracle by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 36,783 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $6,130,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of Oracle by 22.5% in the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 29,095 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $4,848,000 after buying an additional 5,352 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Oracle by 68.4% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 638,449 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $106,391,000 after buying an additional 259,223 shares during the last quarter. San Luis Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Oracle by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. San Luis Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,375 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $896,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new position in Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,066,000. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Oracle Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ORCL opened at $156.34 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $176.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $161.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.72. Oracle Co. has a 12 month low of $105.42 and a 12 month high of $198.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $437.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.22, a P/E/G ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.06.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.48 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $14.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.12 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.34 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.02%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Oracle’s payout ratio is currently 39.12%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Oracle from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. StockNews.com cut shares of Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $165.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded Oracle to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $181.48.

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.