Westfield Capital Management Co. LP Takes $100.34 Million Position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Westfield Capital Management Co. LP bought a new position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 588,842 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock, valued at approximately $100,339,000.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ORCL. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Oracle by 5.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,416,362 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $411,748,000 after purchasing an additional 121,874 shares in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Oracle by 15.3% in the 2nd quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 24,800 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $3,502,000 after buying an additional 3,300 shares during the last quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp bought a new position in shares of Oracle in the third quarter valued at approximately $4,160,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Oracle by 79.6% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 286,460 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $48,813,000 after acquiring an additional 126,985 shares during the period. Finally, Buckley Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Oracle by 63.8% in the third quarter. Buckley Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,370 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $1,256,000 after purchasing an additional 2,870 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 42.44% of the company's stock.

Oracle Price Performance

ORCL traded down $0.14 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $192.29. The stock had a trading volume of 6,879,447 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,824,324. The company has a market cap of $532.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 1.02. Oracle Co. has a 1 year low of $99.26 and a 1 year high of $196.04. The business has a fifty day moving average of $175.62 and a 200 day moving average of $149.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.72.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, September 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.06. Oracle had a net margin of 20.40% and a return on equity of 171.38%. The company had revenue of $13.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $13.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.95 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.83%. Oracle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.24%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on ORCL. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Oracle from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Oracle from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Oracle from $150.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on Oracle from $201.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price target on Oracle from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $169.52.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In related news, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total transaction of $1,042,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 42,889 shares in the company, valued at $7,076,685. The trade was a 12.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 42.20% of the company's stock.

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.