Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Stake Boosted by Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 221,984 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after purchasing an additional 8,875 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd's holdings in Oracle were worth $37,826,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Westend Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Oracle in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Oracle in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Oracle in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Alaska Permanent Fund Corp bought a new position in Oracle during the first quarter worth $36,000. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Oracle Price Performance

Shares of ORCL traded down $0.53 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $175.15. 692,635 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,439,111. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $155.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $138.15. The company has a market capitalization of $482.69 billion, a PE ratio of 47.34, a PEG ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.72. Oracle Co. has a one year low of $99.26 and a one year high of $178.61.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, September 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.06. Oracle had a return on equity of 171.38% and a net margin of 20.40%. The business had revenue of $13.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.95 EPS. Oracle's revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. Oracle's dividend payout ratio is 43.13%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on ORCL. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on Oracle from $201.00 to $202.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Oracle from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Oracle from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Oracle from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Oracle from $160.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $167.42.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total value of $1,042,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 42,889 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,076,685. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 42.80% of the company's stock.

Oracle Company 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.