Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Purchases 48,635 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 231.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 69,647 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after buying an additional 48,635 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Oracle were worth $11,606,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

• BigBear.ai: A Short-Squeeze Is Possible, a Sharp Drop Is Likely

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Oracle by 5.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,416,362 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $411,748,000 after acquiring an additional 121,874 shares during the period. Burkett Financial Services LLC lifted its stake in Oracle by 23.9% in the fourth quarter. Burkett Financial Services LLC now owns 1,328 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $221,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. grew its holdings in Oracle by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. now owns 173,290 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $28,877,000 after purchasing an additional 5,084 shares during the period. Kozak & Associates Inc. increased its position in Oracle by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 1,564 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $260,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. raised its stake in shares of Oracle by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. now owns 75,417 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $12,567,000 after buying an additional 1,605 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company's stock.

Oracle Trading Up 3.6 %

ORCL stock opened at $150.77 on Friday. Oracle Co. has a one year low of $114.55 and a one year high of $198.31. The company has a market capitalization of $421.70 billion, a PE ratio of 36.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.22. The company's 50 day moving average price is $143.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $163.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81.

• The 5 Top Buys for May: Strong Signals at Critical Support Levels

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.02). Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The business had revenue of $14.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.40 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.41 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This is a boost from Oracle's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. Oracle's payout ratio is 46.95%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

• Applied Digital: AI Data Center Hype or Real Value?

ORCL has been the subject of several recent research reports. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $220.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. JMP Securities restated a "market outperform" rating and set a $205.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded shares of Oracle from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Barclays dropped their target price on Oracle from $212.00 to $202.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on Oracle from $194.00 to $160.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Oracle currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $174.42.

Get Our Latest Analysis on ORCL

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In other news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 5,000 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.77, for a total value of $648,850.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 58,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,538,339.30. This trade represents a 7.93 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.81, for a total value of $291,620.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 34,630 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,049,400.30. This represents a 5.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 42.20% of the company's stock.

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.

Further Reading

• Five stocks we like better than Oracle
• How to Plot Fibonacci Price Inflection Levels
• Magnificent 7 Stocks Send a Dire Warning to Markets
• What Investors Need to Know About Upcoming IPOs
• Why Spotify Stock Still Has Room to Run in 2025
• What Are Dividend Achievers? An Introduction
• Buy the Dip: Top Tech Stocks Analysts Say Are Undervalued

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Should You Invest $1,000 in Oracle Right Now?

Before you consider Oracle, you'll want to hear this.

MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Oracle wasn't on the list.

While Oracle currently has a Moderate Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.

View The Five Stocks Here