Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Acquired by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 11.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 18,480,384 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,917,416 shares during the quarter. Oracle accounts for about 1.0% of Franklin Resources Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 14th largest position. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.67% of Oracle worth $3,370,640,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ORCL. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 121,874 shares in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. lifted its stake 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 valued at $3,502,000 after acquiring an additional 3,300 shares during the period. Chase Investment Counsel Corp bought a new stake in Oracle in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $4,160,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew 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 worth $48,813,000 after acquiring an additional 126,985 shares during the period. Finally, Miura Global Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,704,000. 42.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Oracle Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of ORCL traded down $1.93 on Friday, hitting $173.39. 8,137,814 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,401,191. Oracle Co. has a 1 year low of $99.36 and a 1 year high of $198.31. The stock's 50 day moving average is $180.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $155.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $484.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.39, a P/E/G ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.48 by ($0.01). Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The business had revenue of $14.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.34 EPS. Oracle's revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 23rd will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 9th. Oracle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.12%.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In other Oracle news, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total transaction of $1,042,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 42,889 shares in the company, valued at $7,076,685. The trade was a 12.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 42.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on ORCL shares. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Oracle from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Oracle from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays raised their price objective on Oracle from $160.00 to $172.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Oracle from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of Oracle from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $183.63.

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.