United Services Automobile Association Purchases 140 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

United Services Automobile Association grew its holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 36,941 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the period. United Services Automobile Association’s holdings in Oracle were worth $6,156,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ORCL. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at about $117,000. Emerald Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $441,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Oracle by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 157,411,949 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $26,231,127,000 after purchasing an additional 2,296,069 shares during the period. Haverford Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in Oracle by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Haverford Financial Services Inc. now owns 95,444 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $15,905,000 after purchasing an additional 403 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Napatree Capital LLC bought a new stake in Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at $217,000. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Oracle Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE ORCL opened at $152.83 on Monday. Oracle Co. has a 1 year low of $112.78 and a 1 year high of $198.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market cap of $427.45 billion, a PE ratio of 37.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $164.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $170.27.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its quarterly 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%. Oracle’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.41 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This is a boost from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.31%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.35, for a total transaction of $389,448,893.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 42.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ORCL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada set a $145.00 target price on Oracle and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $220.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Oracle from $205.00 to $175.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Oracle from $212.00 to $202.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $150.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Thirteen 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Oracle has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.