Broyhill Asset Management Buys New Stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Broyhill Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 4,238 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock, valued at approximately $706,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ORCL. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Oracle in the 4th quarter worth about $2,216,314,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter valued at $930,095,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Oracle by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 157,411,949 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $26,231,127,000 after purchasing an additional 2,296,069 shares in the last quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC grew its position in Oracle by 22.3% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Oracle by 11.6% in 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 buying an additional 1,917,416 shares in the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Oracle Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ORCL traded up $1.98 during trading on Monday, reaching $134.33. The company had a trading volume of 8,208,279 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,276,268. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $154.50 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $167.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $375.72 billion, a PE ratio of 32.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.22. Oracle Co. has a twelve month low of $112.78 and a twelve month high of $198.31.

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Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.40 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.41 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.49%. This is an increase from Oracle's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Oracle's payout ratio is 46.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.81, for a total transaction of $291,620.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 34,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,049,400.30. The trade was a 5.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now 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. Insiders sold 2,448,328 shares of company stock worth $453,791,001 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 42.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ORCL has been the subject of several recent research reports. Westpark Capital started coverage on Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $195.00 price objective for the company. KeyCorp restated an "overweight" rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Royal Bank of Canada set a $145.00 target price on shares of Oracle and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Oracle from $205.00 to $175.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Oracle from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Thirteen research 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $178.27.

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.