Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Stock Holdings Increased by Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. lifted its stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 9.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 191,938 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,297 shares during the quarter. Oracle accounts for 0.9% of Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $32,706,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Oracle by 1.8% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 17,898,029 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $3,049,824,000 after purchasing an additional 310,709 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in shares of Oracle by 2.3% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 13,242,340 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,869,816,000 after purchasing an additional 296,866 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of Oracle by 6.4% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 11,474,912 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,955,325,000 after purchasing an additional 691,193 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Oracle by 6.2% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,318,962 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,033,430,000 after acquiring an additional 424,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in Oracle by 0.9% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,182,917 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,015,862,000 after acquiring an additional 66,444 shares in the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Melius raised shares of Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Oracle from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Citigroup increased their price target on Oracle from $140.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Barclays increased their price target on Oracle from $160.00 to $172.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Oracle in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $169.52.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In other Oracle news, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total value of $1,042,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 42,889 shares in the company, valued at $7,076,685. The trade was a 12.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Price Performance

NYSE ORCL traded down $7.67 on Thursday, reaching $182.70. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 8,368,797 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,262,293. The firm has a market cap of $506.27 billion, a PE ratio of 47.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.02. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $176.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $150.89. Oracle Co. has a 52 week low of $99.26 and a 52 week high of $196.04. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its earnings results on Monday, September 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $13.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.23 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 20.40% and a return on equity of 171.38%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.95 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.88%. Oracle’s payout ratio is currently 41.24%.

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.