Northern Trust Corp Increases Stock Holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 12.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 19,620,534 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after acquiring an additional 2,176,892 shares during the quarter. Oracle makes up about 0.5% of Northern Trust Corp's portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Northern Trust Corp owned 0.70% of Oracle worth $3,269,566,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ORCL. Howard Capital Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in Oracle by 12.4% in the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 8,019 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $1,366,000 after purchasing an additional 883 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Oracle by 5.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,416,362 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $411,748,000 after acquiring an additional 121,874 shares during the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new stake in Oracle in the third quarter valued at $2,590,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Oracle by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 14,961 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $2,499,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tudor Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Oracle during the 3rd quarter worth $1,531,000. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Oracle news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.81, for a total transaction of $291,620.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 34,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,049,400.30. The trade was a 5.46 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.77, for a total transaction of $648,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 58,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,538,339.30. This represents a 7.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 42.20% of the company's stock.

Oracle Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ORCL opened at $138.50 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $387.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.86, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.22. Oracle Co. has a one year low of $113.65 and a one year high of $198.31. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $146.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $164.85. 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 (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.40 billion. During the same period 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, sell-side analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. This is a boost from Oracle's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.44%. Oracle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Oracle from $210.00 to $180.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $205.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. DA Davidson decreased their price objective on shares of Oracle from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Oracle from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Oracle from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $174.42.

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.

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