Gabelli Funds LLC Purchases 100,025 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Gabelli Funds LLC increased its holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 1,633.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 106,149 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after purchasing an additional 100,025 shares during the quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC's holdings in Oracle were worth $17,689,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ORCL. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $411,748,000 after acquiring an additional 121,874 shares in the last quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Oracle by 201.7% during the 4th quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,599 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $266,000 after purchasing an additional 1,069 shares in the last quarter. RMR Wealth Builders raised its stake in Oracle by 383.4% in the fourth quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 7,155 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $1,192,000 after buying an additional 5,675 shares in the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Oracle by 24.8% during the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 164,593 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $27,428,000 after acquiring an additional 32,718 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,800,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ORCL has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Oracle from $205.00 to $175.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Oracle from $212.00 to $202.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Royal Bank of Canada set a $145.00 target price on shares of Oracle and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Oracle from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $176.73.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 34,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,049,400.30. This trade represents a 5.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Safra Catz sold 345,174 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.56, for a total value of $64,050,487.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,565,931.52. This represents a 23.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 2,453,328 shares of company stock worth $454,439,851 in the last three months. Company insiders own 42.20% of the company's stock.

Oracle Stock Performance

NYSE ORCL traded down $1.20 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $128.56. 8,919,409 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,324,546. 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $359.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.43, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.22. The business's fifty day moving average price is $150.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $166.33.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last announced 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). The company had revenue of $14.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.40 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. Oracle's revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.41 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $0.50 dividend. This is a positive change from Oracle's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Oracle's dividend payout ratio is presently 46.95%.

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.