Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Boosts Stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 9.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 220,064 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,088 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $36,671,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ORCL. Moran Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Oracle by 11.8% during the 4th quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,351 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $2,058,000 after purchasing an additional 1,304 shares during the last quarter. Main Street Research LLC grew its position in shares of Oracle by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Main Street Research LLC now owns 211,326 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $35,215,000 after buying an additional 2,019 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in shares of Oracle by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 430,143 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $71,679,000 after buying an additional 11,881 shares during the last quarter. Fairscale Capital LLC raised its holdings in Oracle by 16.8% in the fourth quarter. Fairscale Capital LLC now owns 847 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $141,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sowell Financial Services LLC boosted its stake in Oracle by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC now owns 25,778 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $4,296,000 after acquiring an additional 224 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the business’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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $207,331,027.20. The trade was a 65.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Trading Up 3.3 %

NYSE:ORCL opened at $155.89 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $436.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.11, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. Oracle Co. has a 1 year low of $111.18 and a 1 year high of $198.31. The business has a fifty day moving average of $167.63 and a 200-day moving average of $169.51.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its earnings results on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by ($0.01). Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The company had revenue of $14.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.34 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ORCL. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Oracle from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. StockNews.com lowered Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. UBS Group increased their target price on Oracle from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Oracle from $173.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lowered Oracle to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Oracle presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $182.73.

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.