Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Stock Position Boosted by American Century Companies Inc.

American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 22.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,895,824 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after acquiring an additional 341,475 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 0.07% of Oracle worth $315,920,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter worth about $930,095,000. Polen Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 22.3% during the 4th quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC now owns 10,723,731 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $1,787,003,000 after buying an additional 1,955,764 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 11.6% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 18,480,384 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $3,370,640,000 after buying an additional 1,917,416 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi grew its position in Oracle by 15.2% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 12,327,164 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $2,012,943,000 after acquiring an additional 1,623,609 shares in the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.35, for a total value of $389,448,893.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at $207,331,027.20. This trade represents a 65.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 42.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Oracle from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Barclays cut their price objective 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. StockNews.com downgraded Oracle from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $205.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $179.20.

Oracle Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ORCL traded up $2.75 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $154.98. The company had a trading volume of 7,844,207 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,509,694. The stock has a market cap of $433.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.89, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $164.89 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $170.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. Oracle Co. has a 12 month low of $112.78 and a 12 month high of $198.31.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The firm had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.40 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.41 EPS. The business's revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share 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 paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.29%. This is a positive change from Oracle's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.95%.

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.