Mediolanum International Funds Ltd Acquires 117,366 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 104.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 229,948 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 117,366 shares during the period. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd’s holdings in Oracle were worth $38,286,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ORCL. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Oracle in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Oracle by 89.7% in the 4th quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 184 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Oracle in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $44,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Oracle in the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. Finally, Avondale Wealth Management bought a new stake in Oracle in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $51,000. Institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on ORCL. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $165.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Oracle from $157.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $182.73.

Oracle Trading Up 5.2 %

ORCL stock opened at $170.41 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $476.62 billion, a PE ratio of 41.66, a P/E/G ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 1.06. Oracle Co. has a 12 month low of $106.51 and a 12 month high of $198.31. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $172.79 and its 200 day moving average is $163.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

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

Oracle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 345,174 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 $207,565,931.52. This trade represents a 23.58 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Oracle 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.