Russell Investments Group Ltd. Has $307.06 Million Stock Position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lessened its position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 2.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,842,316 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 46,107 shares during the quarter. Oracle makes up about 0.4% of Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $307,061,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Howard Capital Management Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Oracle by 12.4% in the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 8,019 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,366,000 after purchasing an additional 883 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 5.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,416,362 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $411,748,000 after acquiring an additional 121,874 shares in the last quarter. United Bank grew its stake in Oracle by 4.8% in the third quarter. United Bank now owns 11,430 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,948,000 after purchasing an additional 519 shares in the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc acquired a new position in Oracle in the 3rd quarter worth about $2,590,000. Finally, Quarry LP increased its position in Oracle by 2,273.8% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,899 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $324,000 after purchasing an additional 1,819 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ORCL has been the topic of several analyst reports. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Oracle from $194.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Royal Bank of Canada set a $145.00 target price on shares of Oracle and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their target price on Oracle from $214.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded Oracle to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.65.

Oracle Stock Down 6.6 %

Shares of NYSE:ORCL opened at $128.17 on Friday. Oracle Co. has a 12 month low of $112.78 and a 12 month high of $198.31. The firm has a market cap of $358.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.34, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $160.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $169.33.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.40 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.41 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 345,174 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.56, for a total value of $64,050,487.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,565,931.52. This trade represents a 23.58 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of Oracle 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 owns 34,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,049,400.30. The trade was a 5.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 2,448,328 shares of company stock worth $453,791,001. Corporate insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Company 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.