Artisan Partners Limited Partnership Has $594.91 Million Holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership increased its stake in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 38.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,570,021 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after acquiring an additional 983,955 shares during the period. Oracle comprises about 0.9% of Artisan Partners Limited Partnership's portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership owned about 0.13% of Oracle worth $594,908,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ORCL. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Oracle by 5.3% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Oracle by 201.7% during the fourth quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,599 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $266,000 after purchasing an additional 1,069 shares during the last quarter. RMR Wealth Builders boosted its holdings in Oracle by 383.4% during the fourth quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 7,155 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $1,192,000 after purchasing an additional 5,675 shares during the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Oracle by 24.8% in the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 164,593 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $27,428,000 after purchasing an additional 32,718 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at $1,800,000. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Insider Transactions at Oracle

In other Oracle news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $207,331,027.20. The trade was a 65.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Oracle Stock Performance

Shares of ORCL stock traded down $5.03 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. Oracle Co. has a fifty-two week low of $112.78 and a fifty-two week high of $198.31. The company has a market capitalization of $393.67 billion, a PE ratio of 34.41, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. The stock's 50 day moving average is $163.94 and its 200-day moving average is $170.22. 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 announced its earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.40 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.41 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.42%. This is an increase from Oracle's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Oracle's dividend payout ratio is presently 46.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Oracle from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and set a $220.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Oracle from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised Oracle from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, JMP Securities restated a "market outperform" rating and set a $205.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $179.20.

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.