Lewis Asset Management LLC Buys 425 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Lewis Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 5.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,631 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after buying an additional 425 shares during the period. Oracle accounts for approximately 1.0% of Lewis Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Lewis Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $1,272,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Oracle by 16,023.4% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,065,083 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $351,890,000 after buying an additional 2,052,275 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Oracle by 11.6% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 18,480,384 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $3,370,640,000 after buying an additional 1,917,416 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Oracle by 2.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 70,441,556 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $12,003,241,000 after buying an additional 1,847,561 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Oracle by 2.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,194,683 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $5,977,015,000 after buying an additional 885,041 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its stake in Oracle by 2,899.0% in the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 913,700 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $155,694,000 after buying an additional 883,233 shares in the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.35, for a total value 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. This trade represents a 65.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on ORCL shares. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on Oracle in a research note on Friday, January 17th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $214.00 price objective for the company. BNP Paribas raised Oracle to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price objective on Oracle from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $182.73.

Oracle Price Performance

ORCL opened at $162.22 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $173.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $163.03. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. The company has a market cap of $453.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 1.06. Oracle Co. has a 12-month low of $106.51 and a 12-month high of $198.31.

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

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.99%. Oracle’s payout ratio is presently 39.12%.

Oracle 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.