Westpac Banking Corp Has $4.74 Million Stock Position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Westpac Banking Corp lowered its position in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 27.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,463 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after selling 10,893 shares during the period. Westpac Banking Corp's holdings in Oracle were worth $4,743,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ORCL. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 2,296,069 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Oracle by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 70,441,556 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $12,003,241,000 after buying an additional 1,847,561 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of 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 shares of Oracle by 9.3% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 20,202,421 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $3,366,531,000 after buying an additional 1,722,037 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 97,635 shares in the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on ORCL shares. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised shares of Oracle from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. BNP Paribas raised Oracle to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Oracle from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Westpark Capital assumed coverage on Oracle in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $195.00 price target for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Oracle from $205.00 to $175.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $178.65.

Oracle Price Performance

ORCL stock traded down $9.06 during trading on Friday, hitting $128.17. The company had a trading volume of 14,968,758 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,111,905. The firm has a market capitalization of $358.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.34, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. The business has a 50 day moving average of $160.05 and a 200 day moving average of $169.34. Oracle Co. has a fifty-two week low of $112.78 and a fifty-two week high of $198.31.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $14.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.41 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This is a boost from Oracle's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.56%. Oracle's payout ratio is 46.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In other news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.35, for a total value of $389,448,893.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares of the company's stock, valued at $207,331,027.20. This trade represents a 65.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of the firm's 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 of the company's stock, valued at $5,049,400.30. This represents a 5.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 2,448,328 shares of company stock valued at $453,791,001. 42.20% of the stock is owned by 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.