Capital Research Global Investors Increases Stock Position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 0.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,954,743 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,941 shares during the quarter. Capital Research Global Investors’ holdings in Oracle were worth $1,992,139,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Oracle in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 89.7% during the fourth quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 184 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new position in Oracle in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, TFC Financial Management Inc. raised its stake in Oracle by 129.0% in the fourth quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 213 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Oracle Stock Performance

ORCL stock opened at $128.56 on Friday. 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 1 year low of $112.78 and a 1 year high of $198.31. The company has a market cap of $359.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.22. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $150.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $166.34.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.02). Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The firm had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.41 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast 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. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This is a boost from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ORCL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Oracle in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Westpark Capital started coverage on Oracle in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $195.00 price objective for the company. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Oracle from $212.00 to $202.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $220.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Oracle from $210.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Oracle currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $176.73.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was 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 directly owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,331,027.20. The trade was a 65.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of the 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $5,049,400.30. This represents a 5.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 2,453,328 shares of company stock valued at $454,439,851 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

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.