Swiss National Bank Increases Position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Swiss National Bank boosted its position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 0.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,913,300 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after acquiring an additional 30,700 shares during the quarter. Oracle accounts for 0.5% of Swiss National Bank's holdings, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Swiss National Bank owned 0.18% of Oracle worth $837,226,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ORCL. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in Oracle in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Oracle during the second quarter worth $35,000. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. bought a new position in shares of Oracle in the 1st quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 2nd quarter valued at $40,000. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Oracle Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of ORCL traded down $3.31 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $183.74. The stock had a trading volume of 8,986,276 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,993,277. Oracle Co. has a 1-year low of $99.26 and a 1-year high of $191.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $509.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.02. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $172.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $147.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, September 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.06. Oracle had a return on equity of 171.38% and a net margin of 20.40%. The firm had revenue of $13.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $13.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.95 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. Oracle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.24%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ORCL has been the subject of several research reports. JMP Securities increased their target price on Oracle from $175.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Oracle from $150.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Oracle from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Melius Research raised shares of Oracle from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Oracle has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $169.52.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total transaction of $1,042,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 42,889 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,076,685. This represents a 12.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate 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.