Generali Investments Management Co LLC Takes $3.86 Million Position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Generali Investments Management Co LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 23,152 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,858,000. Oracle accounts for 1.0% of Generali Investments Management Co LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest position.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 17.9% during the fourth quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 40,718 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $6,787,000 after acquiring an additional 6,175 shares in the last quarter. Stokes Family Office LLC raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Stokes Family Office LLC now owns 35,594 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $5,931,000 after acquiring an additional 392 shares in the last quarter. Councilmark Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Councilmark Asset Management LLC now owns 28,691 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $4,781,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. West Tower Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $250,000. Finally, North Forty Two & Co. bought a new position in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $441,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Trading Down 2.9 %

Oracle stock opened at $149.48 on Wednesday. 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 Co. has a one year low of $112.78 and a one year high of $198.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $418.10 billion, a PE ratio of 36.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. The business’s fifty day moving average is $165.32 and its 200 day moving average is $170.01.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its earnings results 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). The business 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 business posted $1.41 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This is an increase from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.95%.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In other Oracle news, CEO Safra Catz sold 345,174 shares of Oracle 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $207,565,931.52. The trade was a 23.58 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 42.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on ORCL shares. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Oracle from $205.00 to $175.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. UBS Group restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Oracle in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Oracle from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price objective on Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.71.

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.