GQG Partners LLC Purchases 35,601 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

GQG Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 188.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 54,534 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after buying an additional 35,601 shares during the quarter. GQG Partners LLC's holdings in Oracle were worth $9,088,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Oracle by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 157,411,949 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $26,231,127,000 after acquiring an additional 2,296,069 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in Oracle by 2.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 70,441,556 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $12,003,241,000 after acquiring an additional 1,847,561 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Oracle by 2.6% in the 3rd 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 during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Oracle by 11.6% during 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 buying an additional 1,917,416 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Oracle by 0.5% during 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 during the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on ORCL shares. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised Oracle from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Barclays decreased their target price on Oracle from $212.00 to $202.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. UBS Group reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Oracle in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Oracle from $210.00 to $190.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Oracle from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Oracle currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $179.20.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 345,174 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.56, for a total value of $64,050,487.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,565,931.52. This trade represents a 23.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 42.20% of the company's stock.

Oracle Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ORCL traded down $4.58 during trading on Friday, hitting $141.20. The company had a trading volume of 3,293,001 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,520,925. Oracle Co. has a 12 month low of $112.78 and a 12 month high of $198.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $394.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $164.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $170.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81.

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

Oracle Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This is a boost from Oracle's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. 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.