Douglas Lane & Associates LLC Reduces Position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Douglas Lane & Associates LLC has decreased its stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, as reported in their latest filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm now holds 566,388 shares of the enterprise software company after selling 16,900 shares in that period. Oracle represents approximately 1.3% of Douglas Lane's total investments, ranking it as the 19th largest holding in their portfolio. At the end of the most recent financial reporting period, the value of their Oracle shares was estimated at $94,383,000.

Changes in Holdings by Other Investors

In addition to Douglas Lane, several other institutional investors have also adjusted their positions in Oracle. For instance, Activest Wealth Management increased its stake in the company by 21.9% in the third quarter, acquiring an additional 56 shares, thus bringing its total ownership to 312 shares valued at $53,000. Similarly, Second Line Capital LLC raised its holdings by 1.5%, now owning 3,816 shares worth $650,000 after buying 58 more shares in the last quarter. Cadence Bank also expanded its position by 0.8%, resulting in 7,605 shares valued at $1,296,000 after acquiring additional 59 shares. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC saw a slight increase of 0.4% in its Oracle holdings, bringing its total to 17,626 shares valued at $3,003,000 after acquiring 64 shares. Lastly, W Advisors LLC increased its stake by 3.1%, owning 2,158 shares worth $368,000 following a purchase of 64 additional shares. Overall, approximately 42.44% of Oracle's stock is held by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Oracle Stock Performance

During trading hours on Wednesday, Oracle's stock increased by 0.6%, reaching a price of $163.06. The trading volume was reported at 4,252,926 shares, lower than the average volume of 5,948,594. The stock has experienced a range over the past year, with a low of $102.72 and a high of $198.31. Presently, Oracle's 50-day moving average stands at $178.25 while its 200-day average is at $160.59. The company has a high debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, with a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.72. Oracle currently has a market capitalization of $456.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.87, and a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39, with a beta value of 1.06.

Recent Earnings and Dividends

On December 9th, Oracle released its quarterly earnings report, showing an earnings per share (EPS) of $1.47. This figure fell short of analysts' expectations, which were set at $1.48, by $0.01. The company's total revenue for the quarter was $14.06 billion, slightly below the anticipated $14.12 billion. Despite this, Oracle recorded a net margin of 21.16% with an impressive return on equity of 133.25%. Year-over-year, the company saw an 8.6% increase in revenue compared to the previous year when they reported an EPS of $1.34. Analysts project that Oracle Co. will achieve an EPS of 5.03 in the current financial year.

Dividend Announcement

The company has also declared a quarterly dividend, set to be paid on January 9th to shareholders on record as of January 23rd. The announced dividend is $0.40 per share, with an ex-dividend date on January 10th. Annually, this yields a total of $1.60, resulting in a yield of 0.98%. Currently,Oracle's payout ratio is at 39.12%.

Analysts’ Ratings and Recommendations

Numerous analysts have recently commented on Oracle's performance and stock prospects. Oppenheimer maintained a "market perform" rating for Oracle on September 10th. Mizuho raised their price target for the stock from $185.00 to $210.00, rating it as "outperform". Melius also upgraded Oracle from a "hold" to a "buy" rating, setting a price objective of $210.00. BMO Capital Markets adjusted their target price from $173.00 to $205.00, maintaining a "market perform" rating. Additionally, KeyCorp increased its price target from $190.00 to $200.00, giving Oracle an "overweight" rating. There is a mix of opinions from analysts: one has rated the stock as a sell, eleven as hold, seventeen as buy, and one has issued a strong buy rating. Based on MarketBeat data, Oracle holds a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average target price set at $181.48.

Company Overview

Oracle Corporation specializes in products and services designed to cater to enterprise information technology needs globally. Their offerings in cloud software as a service include an array of applications such as Oracle Fusion cloud for enterprise resource planning (ERP), performance management, supply chain, human capital management, Oracle Cerner for healthcare, and various other applications like Oracle Advertising and NetSuite.

Oracle, Investment, Stock