Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Purchased by Baxter Bros Inc.

Baxter Bros Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 9.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,785 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the period. Baxter Bros Inc.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $297,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ORCL. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $930,095,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 157,411,949 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $26,231,127,000 after acquiring an additional 2,296,069 shares during the last quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Oracle by 22.3% in the fourth 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 acquiring an additional 1,955,764 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Oracle by 11.6% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 18,480,384 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $3,370,640,000 after acquiring an additional 1,917,416 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Oracle by 2.7% in 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 purchasing an additional 1,847,561 shares in the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Oracle Stock Up 1.8 %

NYSE:ORCL opened at $154.98 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $433.46 billion, a PE ratio of 37.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. Oracle Co. has a 52 week low of $112.78 and a 52 week 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 stock has a 50 day moving average of $164.89 and a 200-day moving average of $170.36.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.41 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.29%. This is an increase 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 is presently 46.95%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.35, for a total value of $389,448,893.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at $207,331,027.20. The trade was a 65.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on ORCL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Oracle from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $205.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Oracle from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Oracle from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their target price 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. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $179.20.

About Oracle

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.