Everence Capital Management Inc. Acquires 16,000 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Everence Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 26.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 77,282 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,000 shares during the period. Oracle accounts for approximately 0.6% of Everence Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Everence Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $8,148,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sandy Spring Bank boosted its position in Oracle by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 78,049 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $8,229,000 after acquiring an additional 1,107 shares during the last quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI grew its position in shares of Oracle by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI now owns 5,986 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $631,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Quantum Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Oracle during the 3rd quarter valued at $229,000. Cooper Financial Group grew its position in Oracle by 43.4% in the fourth quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 5,038 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $531,000 after acquiring an additional 1,525 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mendota Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Oracle in the fourth quarter worth $171,000. Institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Stock Up 0.6 %

NYSE:ORCL traded up $0.74 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $120.62. The stock had a trading volume of 6,979,086 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,641,536. The company has a market cap of $331.52 billion, a PE ratio of 31.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.34. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $119.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $112.63. Oracle Co. has a 1-year low of $93.29 and a 1-year high of $132.77.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its earnings results on Monday, March 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $13.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.29 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 336.11% and a net margin of 20.27%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.96 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 24th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.33%. Oracle’s payout ratio is presently 42.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ORCL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Argus upgraded shares of Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. HSBC raised their target price on shares of Oracle from $144.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Friday, December 22nd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Oracle from $125.00 to $122.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Oracle has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $130.76.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Oracle news, CEO Safra Catz sold 790,000 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.54, for a total value of $99,966,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $141,546,631.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 42.80% of the company’s stock.

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.