Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Acquired by HighPoint Advisor Group LLC

HighPoint Advisor Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 7.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 39,619 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,659 shares during the quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC's holdings in Oracle were worth $6,966,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ORCL. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,216,314,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $930,095,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted 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 worth $26,231,127,000 after acquiring an additional 2,296,069 shares during the last quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Oracle by 22.3% during the 4th quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC now owns 10,723,731 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $1,787,003,000 after acquiring an additional 1,955,764 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Oracle by 11.6% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 18,480,384 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $3,370,640,000 after purchasing an additional 1,917,416 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.35, for a total value of $389,448,893.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares of the company's stock, valued at $207,331,027.20. This trade represents a 65.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 42.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on ORCL shares. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Oracle from $212.00 to $202.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Mizuho increased their price objective on Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Oracle from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. UBS Group reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Oracle from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $178.65.

Oracle Stock Performance

ORCL traded up $2.24 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $142.05. The company's stock had a trading volume of 9,511,593 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,010,916. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The company's fifty day moving average price is $163.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $170.16. Oracle Co. has a 52-week low of $112.78 and a 52-week high of $198.31. The company has a market capitalization of $397.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07.

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

Oracle Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This is a boost from Oracle's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.41%. Oracle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.