Katamaran Capital LLP Buys Shares of 20,689 Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Katamaran Capital LLP purchased a new position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 20,689 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,448,000. Oracle accounts for 4.4% of Katamaran Capital LLP’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Aviva PLC raised its stake in Oracle by 22.6% in the fourth quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 998,176 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $166,336,000 after buying an additional 183,941 shares in the last quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Oracle in the 4th quarter worth $81,547,000. Leeward Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter worth $3,501,000. Prudential PLC boosted its position in Oracle by 9.4% during the fourth quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 176,592 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $29,427,000 after purchasing an additional 15,102 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hurlow Wealth Management Group Inc. raised its holdings in Oracle by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Hurlow Wealth Management Group Inc. now owns 4,149 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $691,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Oracle Stock Performance

ORCL opened at $128.17 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $160.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $169.33. Oracle Co. has a 1 year low of $112.78 and a 1 year high of $198.31. The stock has a market cap of $358.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.34, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.22. 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) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.02). Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The firm had revenue of $14.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.41 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This is a positive change from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Oracle in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Oracle from $212.00 to $202.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Oracle from $220.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Oracle from $205.00 to $175.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Oracle presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.65.

Insider Activity

In other Oracle news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of the business’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 sale, the director now directly owns 34,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,049,400.30. The trade was a 5.46 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,331,027.20. This trade represents a 65.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 2,448,328 shares of company stock worth $453,791,001 over the last three months. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.