Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Stock Holdings Lifted by Aviva PLC

Aviva PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 22.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 998,176 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after buying an additional 183,941 shares during the period. Aviva PLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $166,336,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Oracle by 89.7% during the 4th quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 184 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Oracle in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. TFC Financial Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Oracle by 129.0% in the fourth quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 213 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Finally, Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Price Performance

ORCL opened at $128.17 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $358.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.34, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.22. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $160.05 and a 200-day moving average of $169.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. Oracle Co. has a 12-month low of $112.78 and a 12-month high of $198.31.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.02). Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The business had revenue of $14.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.40 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.41 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This is an increase from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.56%. Oracle’s payout ratio is presently 46.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In other Oracle news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.81, for a total value of $291,620.00. Following the transaction, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.35, for a total value of $389,448,893.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,331,027.20. This represents a 65.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 2,448,328 shares of company stock worth $453,791,001. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on ORCL. Stephens began coverage on Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $167.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada set a $145.00 price objective on shares of Oracle and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. UBS Group reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $205.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Oracle from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.65.

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.