Aviva PLC Boosts Holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Aviva PLC grew its stake in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 22.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 998,176 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after acquiring an additional 183,941 shares during the period. Aviva PLC's holdings in Oracle were worth $166,336,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted 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 purchasing an additional 2,296,069 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Oracle by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,814,302 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $5,954,961,000 after buying an additional 619,619 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Oracle by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 20,202,421 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $3,366,531,000 after acquiring an additional 1,722,037 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Oracle by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 17,995,664 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $2,998,798,000 after purchasing an additional 97,635 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter valued at $2,216,314,000. Institutional investors own 42.44% of the company's stock.

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Oracle Stock Performance

Oracle stock traded down $4.66 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $122.50. The stock had a trading volume of 8,522,369 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,145,063. Oracle Co. has a 52-week low of $112.78 and a 52-week high of $198.31. The company has a market capitalization of $342.62 billion, a PE ratio of 29.77, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.22. The firm's fifty day moving average is $159.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $169.09. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 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 the consensus estimate of $14.40 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.41 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This is a boost from Oracle's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.63%. Oracle's payout ratio is currently 46.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 34,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,049,400.30. This represents a 5.46 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at $207,331,027.20. This represents a 65.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 2,448,328 shares of company stock worth $453,791,001 in the last three months. 42.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on ORCL. StockNews.com lowered Oracle from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and issued a $205.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Oracle from $205.00 to $175.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price objective on Oracle from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $178.65.

Oracle 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.