1,698 Shares in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Acquired by Grant Private Wealth Management Inc

Grant Private Wealth Management Inc bought a new stake in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,698 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock, valued at approximately $283,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Oracle by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 157,411,949 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $26,231,127,000 after purchasing an additional 2,296,069 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 1,847,561 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Oracle by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,814,302 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $5,954,961,000 after buying an additional 619,619 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Oracle by 9.3% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 20,202,421 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $3,366,531,000 after buying an additional 1,722,037 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Oracle by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 17,995,664 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $2,998,798,000 after buying an additional 97,635 shares in the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Oracle Price Performance

Shares of ORCL opened at $145.96 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $162.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $169.85. 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 twelve month low of $112.78 and a twelve month high of $198.31. The company has a market cap of $408.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $14.40 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.41 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict 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 issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.37%. This is an increase from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is 46.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on ORCL shares. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Oracle from $220.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded shares of Oracle from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Oracle from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Westpark Capital initiated coverage on Oracle in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $195.00 price target for the company. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on Oracle from $212.00 to $202.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Oracle currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.65.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.35, for a total value of $389,448,893.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.