Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Position Boosted by Artisan Partners Limited Partnership

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership lifted its stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 38.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,570,021 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 983,955 shares during the quarter. Oracle accounts for 0.9% of Artisan Partners Limited Partnership’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership’s holdings in Oracle were worth $594,908,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Oracle by 89.7% in the fourth quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 184 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Oracle in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. TFC Financial Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 129.0% during the 4th quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 213 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter valued at about $47,000. 42.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of 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 represents a 65.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective 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. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of Oracle from $210.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Oracle from $212.00 to $202.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded Oracle from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Oracle currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $179.20.

Oracle Stock Down 4.0 %

NYSE ORCL opened at $147.71 on Thursday. Oracle Co. has a twelve month low of $112.78 and a twelve month high of $198.31. The stock has a market cap of $413.15 billion, a PE ratio of 36.12, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $164.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $170.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $14.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.40 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. Oracle’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.41 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast 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 paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.35%. This is an increase from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle’s payout ratio is currently 46.95%.

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.