LPL Financial LLC Buys 226,135 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

LPL Financial LLC grew its holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 14.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,839,085 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after acquiring an additional 226,135 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC owned 0.07% of Oracle worth $306,465,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Blueprint Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 84.1% during the fourth quarter. Blueprint Investment Partners LLC now owns 9,639 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $1,606,000 after acquiring an additional 4,404 shares during the period. Mosley Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Oracle by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. Mosley Wealth Management now owns 7,154 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $1,159,000 after purchasing an additional 514 shares during the period. Guardian Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at about $6,875,000. Fortis Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at about $667,000. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter worth about $93,772,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on ORCL. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $220.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Oracle in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Oracle from $194.00 to $160.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. DA Davidson restated a "neutral" rating and set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt raised Oracle from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. 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, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $179.20.

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Insider Activity at Oracle

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 shares were 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 owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at $207,331,027.20. This trade represents a 65.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Oracle Price Performance

Shares of Oracle stock traded down $1.28 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $153.59. 6,197,301 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,509,694. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $164.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $170.36. The company has a market cap 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 quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. Oracle Co. has a 1-year low of $112.78 and a 1-year high of $198.31.

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

Oracle Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is an increase from Oracle's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.30%. 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.