Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) is Altshuler Shaham Ltd's 4th Largest Position

Altshuler Shaham Ltd raised its stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 155.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,874,330 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,140,600 shares during the quarter. Oracle comprises about 10.5% of Altshuler Shaham Ltd's investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Altshuler Shaham Ltd owned 0.07% of Oracle worth $312,338,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,216,314,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at about $930,095,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Oracle by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 157,411,949 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $26,231,127,000 after purchasing an additional 2,296,069 shares in the last quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC increased 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 purchasing an additional 1,955,764 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Oracle by 11.6% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 18,480,384 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $3,370,640,000 after purchasing an additional 1,917,416 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 5,000 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.77, for a total value of $648,850.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 58,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,538,339.30. The trade was a 7.93 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Safra Catz sold 345,174 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.56, for a total transaction of $64,050,487.44. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $207,565,931.52. This represents a 23.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 2,453,328 shares of company stock valued at $454,439,851 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 42.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ORCL. Westpark Capital initiated coverage on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a "buy" rating and a $195.00 price target for the company. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded shares of Oracle from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Oracle from $210.00 to $180.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada set a $145.00 price objective on Oracle and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Oracle in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $176.73.

Oracle Stock Performance

Oracle stock traded down $1.20 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $128.56. 8,919,409 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,320,254. Oracle Co. has a one year low of $112.78 and a one year high of $198.31. The company has a market cap of $359.58 billion, a PE ratio of 31.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.22. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $150.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $166.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). The company had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.40 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. Oracle's revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.41 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This is a positive change from Oracle's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.95%.

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.