Laffer Tengler Investments Inc. Grows Stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Laffer Tengler Investments Inc. boosted its position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 5.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 69,750 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,543 shares during the period. Oracle makes up approximately 2.3% of Laffer Tengler Investments Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Laffer Tengler Investments Inc.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $11,623,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wealth Group Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Oracle in the third quarter valued at $222,000. Howard Capital Management Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 12.4% in the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 8,019 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,366,000 after acquiring an additional 883 shares during the last quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC boosted its stake in Oracle by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 1,579 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $269,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc boosted its stake in Oracle by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 2,325,268 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $395,295,000 after purchasing an additional 53,128 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rational Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Oracle during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,641,000. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ORCL. UBS Group lifted their target price on Oracle from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Oracle to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Oracle from $157.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $182.73.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In other Oracle news, CEO Safra Catz sold 345,174 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.56, for a total value of $64,050,487.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $207,565,931.52. This trade represents a 23.58 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Stock Performance

NYSE ORCL opened at $157.24 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $168.50 and its 200-day moving average is $169.15. The firm has a market cap of $439.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.05. Oracle Co. has a 12-month low of $110.36 and a 12-month 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 issued its earnings results 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). Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The business had revenue of $14.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.34 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

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

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.