Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC Raises Stock Holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC grew its stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 7.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 174,393 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after buying an additional 12,167 shares during the period. Oracle makes up about 1.6% of Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC’s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $21,906,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Oracle during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,210,181,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Oracle by 9,299.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,170,999 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $865,472,000 after acquiring an additional 8,084,067 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Oracle by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 147,273,413 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $15,599,200,000 after acquiring an additional 7,883,515 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its position in Oracle by 382.4% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,563,366 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $481,820,000 after purchasing an additional 3,617,413 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors boosted its stake in shares of Oracle by 22.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 18,384,162 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,938,242,000 after purchasing an additional 3,323,334 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Oracle from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $125.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Oracle from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Oracle from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $145.83.

Insider Activity

In other Oracle news, insider Edward Screven sold 235,918 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.30, for a total value of $34,042,967.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,626,764 shares in the company, valued at $379,042,045.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director Michael J. Boskin sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.74, for a total transaction of $5,298,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 87,473 shares in the company, valued at $10,299,071.02. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Edward Screven sold 235,918 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.30, for a total value of $34,042,967.40. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 2,626,764 shares in the company, valued at approximately $379,042,045.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 348,418 shares of company stock valued at $47,784,717 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 42.80% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Stock Performance

Shares of ORCL traded up $2.45 on Thursday, reaching $140.68. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,290,248 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,550,287. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $124.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $117.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.25, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $387.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.10, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.01. Oracle Co. has a 12-month low of $99.26 and a 12-month high of $145.32.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.65 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $14.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.57 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 223.01% and a net margin of 19.76%. The company’s revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.35 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 11th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.14%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 11th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.13%.

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.