Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Bought by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 174.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 254,240 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after buying an additional 161,725 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Oracle were worth $42,632,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter worth about $930,095,000. Polen Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Oracle by 22.3% in the 4th quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC now owns 10,723,731 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,787,003,000 after purchasing an additional 1,955,764 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in 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 buying an additional 1,917,416 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in Oracle by 2.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 70,441,556 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $12,003,241,000 after buying an additional 1,847,561 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi boosted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 15.2% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 12,327,164 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $2,012,943,000 after acquiring an additional 1,623,609 shares during the period. 42.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ORCL. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Oracle from $194.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their target price on shares of Oracle from $214.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Oracle from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Royal Bank of Canada set a $145.00 price objective on Oracle and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Oracle from $205.00 to $175.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Thirteen investment 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 data from MarketBeat, Oracle presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Oracle 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Stock Up 2.0 %

ORCL opened at $152.40 on Thursday. 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 company has a market cap of $426.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.26, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. Oracle Co. has a one year low of $112.78 and a one year high of $198.31. The business’s fifty day moving average is $165.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $169.89.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 EPS 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 analysts’ expectations of $14.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.41 earnings per share. Oracle’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.31%. This is a boost from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.95%.

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.