562,722 Shares in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Bought by KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 562,722 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock, valued at approximately $93,772,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ORCL. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Oracle by 89.7% during the 4th 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. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Oracle during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. TFC Financial Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 129.0% in the fourth quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 213 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter worth $47,000. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Oracle Stock Performance

NYSE:ORCL traded down $1.28 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $153.59. The stock had a trading volume of 8,514,230 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,513,966. The stock has a market capitalization of $429.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.55, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. Oracle Co. has a 1-year low of $112.78 and a 1-year high of $198.31. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $164.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $170.44.

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

Oracle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This is a positive change from Oracle's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.30%. Oracle's payout ratio is 46.95%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ORCL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup dropped their price target on Oracle from $194.00 to $160.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $220.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Oracle from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Oracle from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a "market outperform" rating and set a $205.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Thirteen 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 data from MarketBeat.com, Oracle presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $179.20.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 345,174 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.56, for a total value of $64,050,487.44. Following the completion of the sale, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.