Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Acquired by Homestead Advisers Corp

Homestead Advisers Corp boosted its holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 4.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 293,000 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after purchasing an additional 11,200 shares during the quarter. Homestead Advisers Corp's holdings in Oracle were worth $48,826,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ORCL. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Oracle by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 157,411,949 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $26,231,127,000 after buying an additional 2,296,069 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Oracle by 2.7% in 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Oracle by 2.6% during the third 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 last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Oracle by 11.6% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 18,480,384 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $3,370,640,000 after purchasing an additional 1,917,416 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 0.5% in the 4th 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 purchasing an additional 97,635 shares during the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on ORCL shares. Mizuho lifted their price target on Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. KeyCorp reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $205.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, UBS Group restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $179.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at approximately $207,331,027.20. This represents a 65.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Oracle Price Performance

Shares of Oracle stock traded down $5.03 on Friday, hitting $140.75. The company's stock had a trading volume of 13,138,087 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,963,386. The company has a market capitalization of $393.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. Oracle Co. has a 52-week low of $112.78 and a 52-week high of $198.31. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $163.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $170.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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). Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The business had revenue of $14.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.41 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is an increase 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 yield of 1.42%. Oracle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.95%.

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.