J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Buys 15,381 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG boosted its stake in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 179.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 23,956 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after acquiring an additional 15,381 shares during the quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG's holdings in Oracle were worth $3,992,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Oracle by 89.7% during the fourth quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 184 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, TFC Financial Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Oracle by 129.0% during the 4th quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 213 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Oracle news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.81, for a total transaction of $291,620.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 34,630 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,049,400.30. The trade was a 5.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.77, for a total value of $648,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 58,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,538,339.30. The trade was a 7.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 42.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Oracle Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:ORCL traded up $0.99 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $138.50. 5,471,649 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,359,233. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $147.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $165.26. Oracle Co. has a one year low of $112.78 and a one year high of $198.31. The company has a market cap of $387.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.86, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.22. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 last year, the business earned $1.41 earnings per share. Oracle's revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. This is an increase from Oracle's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle's dividend payout ratio is presently 46.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on ORCL. Citigroup lowered their target price on Oracle from $194.00 to $160.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Oracle from $200.00 to $185.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their target price on shares of Oracle from $214.00 to $175.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Oracle from $205.00 to $175.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Oracle from $212.00 to $202.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $174.42.

Oracle Company 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.