Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Raises Stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 76.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,202,098 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 519,479 shares during the quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board’s holdings in Oracle were worth $150,996,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Westend Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Oracle in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Tidemark LLC bought a new position in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Nordwand Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Alaska Permanent Fund Corp bought a new position in shares of Oracle during the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In other Oracle news, Chairman Lawrence Joseph Ellison sold 1,125,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.69, for a total value of $161,651,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 1,145,732,353 shares in the company, valued at approximately $164,630,281,802.57. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Oracle news, Chairman Lawrence Joseph Ellison sold 1,125,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.69, for a total value of $161,651,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 1,145,732,353 shares in the company, valued at approximately $164,630,281,802.57. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director George H. Conrades sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.13, for a total value of $2,903,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 17,836 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,071,294.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,952,500 shares of company stock worth $277,298,174 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 42.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on ORCL shares. Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $125.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Oracle from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. UBS Group upped their target price on Oracle from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Oracle from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $145.83.

Oracle Stock Performance

Shares of ORCL stock traded up $1.19 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $139.01. 5,139,377 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,701,505. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.25, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $383.09 billion, a PE ratio of 37.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.02. Oracle Co. has a 12 month low of $99.26 and a 12 month high of $146.59. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $135.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $123.16.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.65 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $14.29 billion during 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 for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.35 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5.02 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 11th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 11th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.15%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.13%.

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.