Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Acquired by National Pension Service

National Pension Service lifted its stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 0.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,240,399 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,538 shares during the quarter. Oracle accounts for 0.5% of National Pension Service’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. National Pension Service owned 0.12% of Oracle worth $539,980,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Oracle during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Oracle by 89.7% in the fourth quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 184 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Oracle by 129.0% during the fourth quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 213 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle in the third quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on ORCL. BNP Paribas raised Oracle to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $165.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Oracle from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of Oracle from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Oracle from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $182.73.

Oracle Trading Down 0.9 %

NYSE:ORCL opened at $168.51 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $471.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.20, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.05. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $168.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $168.12. 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 Co. has a 12-month low of $109.79 and a 12-month high of $198.31.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.48 by ($0.01). Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The firm had revenue of $14.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.12 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.34 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 dividend yield of 0.95%. Oracle’s payout ratio is currently 39.12%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.35, for a total transaction of $389,448,893.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,331,027.20. This trade represents a 65.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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.