Blueprint Investment Partners LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Blueprint Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 84.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,639 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,404 shares during the period. Blueprint Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $1,606,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. TFC Financial Management Inc. raised its holdings in Oracle by 129.0% during the fourth quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 213 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at about $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Stock Performance

NYSE ORCL opened at $152.83 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $427.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. The business has a fifty day moving average of $164.87 and a 200-day moving average of $170.06. Oracle Co. has a fifty-two week low of $112.78 and a fifty-two week high of $198.31. 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 (NYSE:ORCL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.40 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 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.41 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This is an increase from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.31%. Oracle’s payout ratio is 46.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their target price on Oracle from $214.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Royal Bank of Canada set a $145.00 price objective on Oracle and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $150.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Oracle from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Oracle has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $179.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.35, for a total value of $389,448,893.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,331,027.20. This trade represents a 65.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

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.