Shell Asset Management Co. Has $3.71 Million Stock Position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Shell Asset Management Co. increased its position in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 205.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 22,259 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,968 shares during the period. Shell Asset Management Co.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $3,709,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Oracle by 201.7% during the 4th quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,599 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $266,000 after purchasing an additional 1,069 shares in the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Oracle by 24.8% during the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 164,593 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $27,428,000 after purchasing an additional 32,718 shares in the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter worth about $1,800,000. Boston Trust Walden Corp grew its holdings in Oracle by 40.8% during the 4th quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 564,030 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $93,990,000 after acquiring an additional 163,543 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avanza Fonder AB bought a new stake in Oracle during the 4th quarter worth about $20,346,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Stock Up 0.6%

Oracle stock opened at $160.31 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $142.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $162.57. Oracle Co. has a fifty-two week low of $114.55 and a fifty-two week high of $198.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $448.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.20, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.40 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.41 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a positive change from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.25%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Oracle from $200.00 to $185.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their price objective on shares of Oracle from $214.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Westpark Capital assumed coverage on shares of Oracle in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $195.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Oracle from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $174.42.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Oracle news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $291,620.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 34,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,049,400.30. This trade represents a 5.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.77, for a total transaction of $648,850.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 58,090 shares in the company, valued at $7,538,339.30. This trade represents a 7.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 27,366 shares of company stock worth $4,015,723. Company insiders own 42.20% 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.