Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Bought by Daiwa Securities Group Inc.

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 12.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 200,976 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after purchasing an additional 22,230 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.'s holdings in Oracle were worth $34,246,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. lifted its position in Oracle by 15.3% during the 2nd quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 24,800 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $3,502,000 after acquiring an additional 3,300 shares during the period. Chase Investment Counsel Corp purchased a new position in shares of Oracle in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $4,160,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Oracle by 79.6% in the third quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 286,460 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $48,813,000 after purchasing an additional 126,985 shares during the period. Finally, Buckley Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Oracle by 63.8% during the third quarter. Buckley Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,370 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $1,256,000 after purchasing an additional 2,870 shares during the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group reiterated a "market outperform" rating on shares of Oracle in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Melius raised shares of Oracle from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $210.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, September 16th. Oppenheimer reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Oracle from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Oracle from $160.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $169.52.

Oracle Trading Down 0.1 %

Oracle stock traded down $0.14 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $192.29. The stock had a trading volume of 6,879,447 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,824,324. The stock has a market capitalization of $532.85 billion, a PE ratio of 49.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.72. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $175.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $149.41. Oracle Co. has a twelve month low of $99.26 and a twelve month high of $196.04.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, September 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.06. Oracle had a net margin of 20.40% and a return on equity of 171.38%. The firm had revenue of $13.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.95 earnings per share. Oracle's revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.83%. Oracle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.24%.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In other Oracle news, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total value of $1,042,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 42,889 shares in the company, valued at $7,076,685. The trade was a 12.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 42.20% of the company's stock.

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.