InvesTrust Invests $8.67 Million in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

InvesTrust purchased a new stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 51,987 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock, valued at approximately $8,667,000. Oracle comprises about 2.4% of InvesTrust’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Oracle by 2.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 70,441,556 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $12,003,241,000 after purchasing an additional 1,847,561 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 2.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,194,683 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $5,977,015,000 after buying an additional 885,041 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Oracle by 11.6% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 18,480,384 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $3,370,640,000 after acquiring an additional 1,917,416 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Oracle by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 17,898,029 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $3,049,824,000 after acquiring an additional 310,709 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in Oracle by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 14,608,951 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $2,489,345,000 after acquiring an additional 54,868 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:ORCL traded up $1.35 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $163.38. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,186,204 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,948,594. Oracle Co. has a fifty-two week low of $102.72 and a fifty-two week high of $198.31. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $178.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $160.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.81. The company has a market capitalization of $456.97 billion, a PE ratio of 39.95, a P/E/G ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.06.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its earnings results on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.48 by ($0.01). Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The company had revenue of $14.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.34 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on ORCL shares. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of Oracle from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Oracle from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Oracle from $157.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt downgraded shares of Oracle from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $130.00 target price for the company. in a report on Friday, December 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Oracle has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $181.48.

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.