AGP Franklin LLC Invests $7.40 Million in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

AGP Franklin LLC purchased a new position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 44,426 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock, valued at approximately $7,403,000. Oracle comprises about 4.5% of AGP Franklin LLC's holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest holding.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Requisite Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Oracle by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Requisite Capital Management LLC now owns 2,240 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $373,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. grew its position in shares of Oracle by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. now owns 1,423 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $237,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp increased its position in Oracle by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 5,447 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $908,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. Warther Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Oracle by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Warther Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,621 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $603,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the period. Finally, Howard Bailey Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Oracle by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Howard Bailey Securities LLC now owns 2,274 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $379,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on ORCL. Stephens initiated coverage on Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $167.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Oracle from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Oracle from $220.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Oracle from $210.00 to $180.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Oracle from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $176.73.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.81, for a total value of $291,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 34,630 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,049,400.30. This trade represents a 5.46 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.35, for a total value of $389,448,893.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at $207,331,027.20. This trade represents a 65.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 2,453,328 shares of company stock valued at $454,439,851. Insiders own 42.20% of the company's stock.

Oracle Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of ORCL traded down $1.20 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $128.56. 8,919,409 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,309,665. 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 $359.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.43, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.22. The stock's 50-day moving average is $151.82 and its 200-day moving average is $166.61. Oracle Co. has a fifty-two week low of $112.78 and a fifty-two week high of $198.31.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (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 firm 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 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $0.50 dividend. This is an increase from Oracle's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.56%. Oracle's dividend payout ratio is 46.95%.

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.