Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Acquired by Plato Investment Management Ltd

Plato Investment Management Ltd grew its stake in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 8.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 36,600 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after acquiring an additional 2,726 shares during the period. Plato Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Oracle were worth $6,230,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Oracle by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,416,362 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $411,748,000 after acquiring an additional 121,874 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. raised its position in shares of Oracle by 15.3% during the 2nd quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 24,800 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $3,502,000 after purchasing an additional 3,300 shares during the last quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp acquired a new position in shares of Oracle during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $4,160,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Oracle by 79.6% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 286,460 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $48,813,000 after purchasing an additional 126,985 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Buckley Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Oracle by 63.8% during the 3rd quarter. Buckley Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,370 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $1,256,000 after purchasing an additional 2,870 shares during the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ORCL. Oppenheimer restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Oracle from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Oracle from $160.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Guggenheim lifted their target price on shares of Oracle from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Oracle from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Oracle presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $168.52.

Oracle Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:ORCL traded down $0.99 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $188.64. 1,984,119 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,225,795. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.72. The company has a market cap of $522.73 billion, a PE ratio of 48.68, a P/E/G ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 1.02. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $170.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $145.85. Oracle Co. has a twelve month low of $99.26 and a twelve month high of $191.77.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, September 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.06. Oracle had a net margin of 20.40% and a return on equity of 171.38%. The firm had revenue of $13.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.95 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.85%. Oracle's dividend payout ratio is currently 41.24%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Oracle news, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total value of $1,042,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 42,889 shares in the company, valued at $7,076,685. The trade was a 0.00 % 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 currently owned by company insiders.

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.