Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Acquired by Geode Capital Management LLC

Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 35,814,302 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 619,619 shares during the period. Oracle makes up about 0.5% of Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $5,954,961,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at $2,216,314,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at $930,095,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Oracle by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 157,411,949 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $26,231,127,000 after buying an additional 2,296,069 shares in the last quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Oracle by 22.3% during the 4th quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC now owns 10,723,731 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,787,003,000 after buying an additional 1,955,764 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position 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 in the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Oracle news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the chief executive officer now 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Oracle Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ORCL opened at $140.07 on Tuesday. 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 Co. has a one year low of $112.78 and a one year high of $198.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $391.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.25, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. The company’s fifty day moving average is $163.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $170.16.

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 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 company had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.40 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.41 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This is an increase from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup decreased their target price on Oracle from $194.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Piper Sandler cut 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. Royal Bank of Canada set a $145.00 price target on shares of Oracle and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Oracle from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Oracle currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $178.00.

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.