WINTON GROUP Ltd Raises Stock Holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

WINTON GROUP Ltd raised its holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 43.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,514 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after purchasing an additional 4,993 shares during the quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd's holdings in Oracle were worth $2,752,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Howard Capital Management Group LLC grew its position in Oracle by 12.4% during the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 8,019 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $1,366,000 after buying an additional 883 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Oracle by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,416,362 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $411,748,000 after acquiring an additional 121,874 shares during the period. United Bank increased its stake in Oracle by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 11,430 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $1,948,000 after purchasing an additional 519 shares in the last quarter. Cadence Bank raised its holdings in Oracle by 0.8% during the third quarter. Cadence Bank now owns 7,605 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $1,296,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Freedom Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Oracle by 3.0% during the third quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. now owns 9,723 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $1,657,000 after purchasing an additional 281 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company's stock.

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Insider Transactions at Oracle

In other Oracle news, CEO Safra Catz sold 345,174 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.56, for a total value of $64,050,487.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at $207,565,931.52. This represents a 23.58 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 42.20% of the company's stock.

Oracle Trading Down 3.5 %

Shares of NYSE:ORCL traded down $5.03 during trading on Friday, reaching $140.75. 13,138,087 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,963,386. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $163.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $170.22. The firm has a market cap of $393.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. Oracle Co. has a 12-month low of $112.78 and a 12-month high of $198.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81.

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

Oracle Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This is a boost from Oracle's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle's payout ratio is currently 46.95%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on ORCL shares. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and set a $205.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $220.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Oracle from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Oracle from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised Oracle to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $179.20.

Oracle 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.