Neuberger Berman Group LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Neuberger Berman Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,605,609 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after acquiring an additional 63,803 shares during the period. Oracle accounts for 0.6% of Neuberger Berman Group LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Neuberger Berman Group LLC owned approximately 0.16% of Oracle worth $767,479,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ORCL. Royal Bank of Canada set a $145.00 target price on Oracle and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Oracle from $212.00 to $202.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Oracle from $220.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Oracle from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Oracle from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Oracle has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $178.65.

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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 value of $291,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 34,630 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,049,400.30. The trade was a 5.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,331,027.20. This represents a 65.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 2,448,328 shares of company stock valued at $453,791,001 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 42.20% of the company's stock.

Oracle Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ORCL traded up $1.84 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $134.19. The company had a trading volume of 3,316,261 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,257,175. Oracle Co. has a 1 year low of $112.78 and a 1 year high of $198.31. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $155.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $167.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. The stock has a market cap of $375.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.81, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.22.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.40 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.41 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.49%. This is a positive change from Oracle's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.