United Bank Acquires 1,805 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

United Bank lifted its stake in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 15.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 13,235 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,805 shares during the quarter. United Bank's holdings in Oracle were worth $2,205,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Oracle by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 157,411,949 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $26,231,127,000 after buying an additional 2,296,069 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 70,441,556 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $12,003,241,000 after acquiring an additional 1,847,561 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Oracle by 2.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,194,683 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $5,977,015,000 after acquiring an additional 885,041 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Oracle by 11.6% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 18,480,384 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $3,370,640,000 after acquiring an additional 1,917,416 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Oracle by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 17,995,664 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $2,998,798,000 after acquiring an additional 97,635 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 42.44% of the company's stock.

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Oracle Stock Up 3.3 %

ORCL traded up $4.71 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $146.65. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,612,171 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,002,662. Oracle Co. has a 1 year low of $112.78 and a 1 year high of $198.31. The stock's 50-day moving average is $162.91 and its 200-day moving average is $170.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $410.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.86, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. 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 (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.02). Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The company had revenue of $14.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.41 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.36%. This is a boost from Oracle's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.95%.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In other Oracle news, CEO Safra Catz sold 345,174 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.56, for a total transaction of $64,050,487.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares of the company's stock, valued at $207,565,931.52. This trade represents a 23.58 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 42.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ORCL has been the subject of a number of research reports. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Oracle from $205.00 to $175.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and issued a $205.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Oracle from $194.00 to $160.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Oracle from $212.00 to $202.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Oracle in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $178.65.

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.