Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Stock Holdings Lessened by Loomis Sayles & Co. L P

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P reduced its stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 3.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,552,543 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 684,884 shares during the quarter. Oracle makes up 316.0% of Loomis Sayles & Co. L P’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P owned 0.63% of Oracle worth $2,924,956,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $930,095,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Oracle by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 157,411,949 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $26,231,127,000 after purchasing an additional 2,296,069 shares during the last quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Oracle by 22.3% during the 4th quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC now owns 10,723,731 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,787,003,000 after purchasing an additional 1,955,764 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 11.6% in 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 buying an additional 1,917,416 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp grew its position in Oracle by 2.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 70,441,556 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $12,003,241,000 after buying an additional 1,847,561 shares during the period. 42.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Oracle Stock Down 4.0 %

Shares of ORCL opened at $147.71 on Thursday. Oracle Co. has a 1 year low of $112.78 and a 1 year high of $198.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $164.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $170.28. The firm has a market cap of $413.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.12, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). The business had revenue of $14.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.40 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. Oracle’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.41 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This is a positive change from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is 46.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ORCL has been the topic of several research reports. Stephens started coverage on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $167.00 price objective on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Oracle from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. UBS Group reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Oracle from $200.00 to $185.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Oracle presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.20.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In other Oracle news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the company’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 owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $207,331,027.20. This represents a 65.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.