Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Grows Stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky raised its position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 24.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 354,868 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 69,559 shares during the period. Oracle comprises approximately 0.5% of Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky’s holdings in Oracle were worth $59,135,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in shares of Oracle by 163.4% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 101,189 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $16,862,000 after acquiring an additional 62,777 shares during the last quarter. Tradition Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Oracle by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Tradition Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,426 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $904,000 after purchasing an additional 327 shares in the last quarter. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter worth about $272,000. Trajan Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Oracle by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Trajan Wealth LLC now owns 73,767 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $12,293,000 after buying an additional 7,255 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sharpepoint LLC purchased a new position in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $273,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Price Performance

ORCL opened at $128.56 on Friday. Oracle Co. has a twelve month low of $112.78 and a twelve month high of $198.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. The firm has a market cap of $359.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.43, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $150.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of $166.33.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.40 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.41 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.56%. This is an increase from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle’s payout ratio is presently 46.95%.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In other news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.81, for a total transaction of $291,620.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 34,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,049,400.30. The trade was a 5.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $207,331,027.20. The trade was a 65.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 2,453,328 shares of company stock valued at $454,439,851 over the last three months. 42.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Royal Bank of Canada set a $145.00 price objective on Oracle and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded Oracle from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Oracle from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Oracle from $200.00 to $185.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Oracle currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $176.73.

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.