Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Stake Boosted by Dash Acquisitions Inc.

Dash Acquisitions Inc. grew its stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 184.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 53,372 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after acquiring an additional 34,624 shares during the period. Oracle comprises 2.0% of Dash Acquisitions Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Dash Acquisitions Inc.'s holdings in Oracle were worth $8,753,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Zullo Investment Group Inc. increased its stake in Oracle by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Zullo Investment Group Inc. now owns 2,198 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $366,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the period. Boston Financial Mangement LLC increased its position in shares of Oracle by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC now owns 15,010 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $2,501,000 after acquiring an additional 697 shares during the period. Maytree Asset Management Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at $850,000. Advyzon Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at $554,000. Finally, Meitav Investment House Ltd. acquired a new position in Oracle during the 4th quarter worth $401,000. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on ORCL. Mizuho increased their price target on Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on shares of Oracle in a research note on Friday, January 17th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $214.00 price target for the company. KeyCorp increased their price objective on shares of Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on shares of Oracle from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised Oracle to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Oracle has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $182.73.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 owns 1,118,592 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $207,331,027.20. This trade represents a 65.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Oracle Price Performance

Oracle stock traded down $8.08 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $167.92. 7,844,019 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,044,818. Oracle Co. has a 12-month low of $109.66 and a 12-month high of $198.31. The company has a market capitalization of $469.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.06, a PEG ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 1.05. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $169.10 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $166.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.48 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $14.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.12 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.34 EPS. Analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 23rd were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.95%. Oracle's payout ratio is 39.12%.

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.