Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations Makes New Investment in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations bought a new stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 61,449 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock, valued at approximately $10,240,000. Oracle accounts for 0.5% of Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations' investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Oracle by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 157,411,949 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $26,231,127,000 after acquiring an additional 2,296,069 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Oracle by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 70,441,556 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $12,003,241,000 after purchasing an additional 1,847,561 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Oracle by 2.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,194,683 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $5,977,015,000 after purchasing an additional 885,041 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Oracle by 11.6% in the third 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 during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Oracle by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 17,995,664 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $2,998,798,000 after buying an additional 97,635 shares in the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In other Oracle news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at $207,331,027.20. This represents a 65.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 42.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Oracle Stock Down 3.5 %

Shares of ORCL traded down $5.03 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $140.75. The company had a trading volume of 13,138,087 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,963,386. Oracle Co. has a 1 year low of $112.78 and a 1 year high of $198.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $393.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.41, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. 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's 50-day simple moving average is $163.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $170.22.

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. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.42%. 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 is 46.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on ORCL. 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 note on Tuesday, March 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their target price on shares of Oracle from $214.00 to $175.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised shares of Oracle from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. KeyCorp reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and issued a $220.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Oracle has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $179.20.

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.