Coleford Investment Management Ltd. Buys New Holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Coleford Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 149,194 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock, valued at approximately $24,862,000. Oracle makes up about 6.6% of Coleford Investment Management Ltd.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Oracle by 5.3% in 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 buying an additional 121,874 shares during the period. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Oracle by 201.7% in the 4th quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,599 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $266,000 after acquiring an additional 1,069 shares during the period. RMR Wealth Builders boosted its stake in Oracle by 383.4% during the 4th quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 7,155 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $1,192,000 after acquiring an additional 5,675 shares during the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Oracle by 24.8% in the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 164,593 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $27,428,000 after purchasing an additional 32,718 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Oracle in the fourth quarter worth $1,800,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ORCL. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price target on shares of Oracle from $214.00 to $175.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Mizuho lowered their target price on Oracle from $210.00 to $180.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. DA Davidson cut their price target on Oracle from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. StockNews.com downgraded Oracle from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their target price on Oracle from $210.00 to $190.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $176.73.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $5,049,400.30. This trade represents a 5.46 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.77, for a total value of $648,850.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 58,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,538,339.30. The trade was a 7.93 % 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. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Oracle Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ORCL traded down $1.20 during trading on Friday, hitting $128.56. 8,919,409 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,320,254. 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 Co. has a 1-year low of $112.78 and a 1-year high of $198.31. The company has a market capitalization of $359.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.22. The business's 50 day moving average is $150.85 and its 200-day moving average is $166.34.

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

Oracle Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a positive change from Oracle's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Oracle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.