First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. Acquires 2,975 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. raised its stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 4.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 72,166 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,975 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $12,026,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ORCL. Winch Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Oracle by 89.7% in the fourth quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 184 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Oracle in the 3rd quarter valued at $44,000. Avondale Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 3rd quarter valued at $51,000. Friedenthal Financial acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 3rd quarter worth $51,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Oracle by 21.9% in the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 312 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In other Oracle news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.35, for a total transaction of $389,448,893.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,331,027.20. The trade was a 65.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Oracle Stock Performance

Shares of ORCL stock opened at $183.59 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. Oracle Co. has a 52 week low of $106.51 and a 52 week high of $198.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $513.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.89, a PEG ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 1.06. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $174.41 and a 200 day moving average of $162.49.

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

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on ORCL. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Oracle from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. StockNews.com downgraded Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Oracle from $173.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Guggenheim boosted their price target on Oracle from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on shares of Oracle from $201.00 to $202.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $182.73.

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.