Norges Bank Takes Position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 13,300,009 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,216,314,000. Norges Bank owned 0.48% of Oracle at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC grew 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 valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. TFC Financial Management Inc. lifted its stake in Oracle by 129.0% in the 4th quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 213 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter valued at about $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.35, for a total transaction 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 represents a 65.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 42.20% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ORCL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada set a $145.00 target price on Oracle and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target 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. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Oracle from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Oracle from $210.00 to $190.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on Oracle from $212.00 to $202.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $179.20.

Oracle Stock Down 3.5 %

Shares of ORCL traded down $5.03 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $140.75. The company's stock had a trading volume of 13,138,087 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,963,386. The firm has a market capitalization of $393.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.41, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. The company's 50-day moving average is $163.94 and its 200-day moving average is $170.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. Oracle Co. has a 52-week low of $112.78 and a 52-week high of $198.31.

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 for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.02). The business 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 for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.41 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.42%. This is a positive change from Oracle's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Oracle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.95%.

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.