B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG Acquires 9,896 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG lifted its stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 6.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 163,583 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after buying an additional 9,896 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG's holdings in Oracle were worth $27,256,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ORCL. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Oracle during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Oracle by 89.7% in the fourth quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 184 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. TFC Financial Management Inc. increased its position in Oracle by 129.0% during the fourth quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 213 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at about $47,000. 42.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ORCL has been the topic of several analyst reports. Mizuho raised their price objective on Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised shares of Oracle from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Bank of America lowered their target price on Oracle from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Stephens assumed coverage on Oracle in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $167.00 price target for the company. Finally, KeyCorp reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $178.65.

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Oracle Stock Performance

Oracle stock traded up $2.24 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $142.05. 9,511,593 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,010,916. Oracle Co. has a one year low of $112.78 and a one year high of $198.31. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $163.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $170.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. The company has a market cap of $397.32 billion, a PE ratio of 34.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last released 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). The firm had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.40 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. Oracle's revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.41 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This is a positive change from Oracle's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.41%. Oracle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In other Oracle news, CEO Safra Catz sold 345,174 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction 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 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 at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 42.20% 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.