Exane Asset Management Boosts Holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Exane Asset Management grew its position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 22.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,148 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,052 shares during the quarter. Oracle comprises about 1.1% of Exane Asset Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Exane Asset Management’s holdings in Oracle were worth $1,924,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ORCL. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Oracle by 16,023.4% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,065,083 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $351,890,000 after buying an additional 2,052,275 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Oracle by 11.6% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 18,480,384 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $3,370,640,000 after acquiring an additional 1,917,416 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Oracle by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 70,441,556 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $12,003,241,000 after acquiring an additional 1,847,561 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in Oracle by 279.7% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,210,745 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $201,759,000 after acquiring an additional 891,842 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Oracle by 2.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,194,683 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $5,977,015,000 after purchasing an additional 885,041 shares during the period. 42.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Oracle Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:ORCL opened at $174.53 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $170.63 and its 200 day moving average is $164.11. 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 1 year low of $106.51 and a 1 year high of $198.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $488.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.67, a P/E/G ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 1.05.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). The company had revenue of $14.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.12 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The business’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.34 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.12%.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In other Oracle news, CEO Safra Catz sold 345,174 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.56, for a total transaction of $64,050,487.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,565,931.52. This trade represents a 23.58 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 42.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 1st. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Oracle from $157.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Oracle from $173.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $182.73.

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.