Payden & Rygel Raises Stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Payden & Rygel lifted its position in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 31.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 85,690 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after buying an additional 20,400 shares during the period. Payden & Rygel's holdings in Oracle were worth $14,279,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ORCL. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. TFC Financial Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Oracle by 129.0% in the fourth quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 213 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Oracle during the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company's stock.

Oracle Stock Performance

NYSE:ORCL traded down $4.19 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $122.97. 8,522,369 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,145,063. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $343.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.77, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.22. Oracle Co. has a 1-year low of $112.78 and a 1-year high of $198.31. The company has a 50-day moving average of $159.43 and a 200 day moving average of $169.09.

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Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.40 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.41 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on ORCL shares. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $220.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Oracle from $200.00 to $185.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Mizuho upped their price target on Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their price objective on Oracle from $214.00 to $175.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on Oracle from $194.00 to $160.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Thirteen 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Oracle has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $178.65.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.81, for a total value 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Safra Catz sold 345,174 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.56, for a total transaction of $64,050,487.44. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,565,931.52. This trade represents a 23.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 2,448,328 shares of company stock valued at $453,791,001 over the last three months. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.