MetLife Investment Management LLC Grows Position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 494,021 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after acquiring an additional 7,329 shares during the period. Oracle accounts for approximately 0.4% of MetLife Investment Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. MetLife Investment Management LLC's holdings in Oracle were worth $82,324,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in 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 during the period. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Oracle in the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Finally, TFC Financial Management Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 345,174 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.56, for a total transaction of $64,050,487.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares of the company's stock, valued at $207,565,931.52. This trade represents a 23.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now owns 58,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,538,339.30. This trade represents a 7.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 2,453,328 shares of company stock valued at $454,439,851 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 42.20% of the company's stock.

Oracle Price Performance

Shares of ORCL opened at $128.56 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The company has a market cap of $359.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.43, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.22. Oracle Co. has a 12 month low of $112.78 and a 12 month high of $198.31. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $150.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $166.34.

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 for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $14.13 billion during 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%. The firm's revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.41 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $0.50 dividend. This is a boost from Oracle's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Oracle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on ORCL. Mizuho cut their price objective on Oracle from $210.00 to $180.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada set a $145.00 target price on shares of Oracle and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. KeyCorp reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. StockNews.com lowered Oracle from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Westpark Capital began coverage on Oracle in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $195.00 price target for the company. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $176.73.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.