Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Position Raised by Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky raised its position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 24.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 354,868 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after buying an additional 69,559 shares during the quarter. Oracle comprises about 0.5% of Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky's holdings, making the stock its 26th largest position. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky's holdings in Oracle were worth $59,135,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ORCL. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Oracle by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 157,411,949 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $26,231,127,000 after acquiring an additional 2,296,069 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Oracle by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 38,002,902 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $6,332,803,000 after purchasing an additional 156,269 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted 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 purchasing an additional 619,619 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Oracle by 9.3% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 20,202,421 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $3,366,531,000 after purchasing an additional 1,722,037 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Oracle by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 17,995,664 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $2,998,798,000 after buying an additional 97,635 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on ORCL shares. DA Davidson lowered their price objective on shares of Oracle from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Royal Bank of Canada set a $145.00 price target on shares of Oracle and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Oracle from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Stephens started coverage on Oracle in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $167.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Oracle from $220.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 31st. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $174.42.

Oracle Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ORCL traded up $4.19 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $131.43. 9,519,514 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,353,160. The stock has a market capitalization of $367.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.22. Oracle Co. has a 12 month low of $112.78 and a 12 month high of $198.31. The company has a 50 day moving average of $148.93 and a 200-day moving average of $165.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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). The company had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.40 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.41 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.52%. This is a boost from Oracle's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Oracle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.95%.

Insider Activity

In other Oracle news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.77, for a total transaction of $648,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 58,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,538,339.30. The trade was a 7.93 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Safra Catz sold 345,174 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.56, for a total value of $64,050,487.44. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at $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. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 352,174 shares of company stock valued at $64,990,957. 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.