Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Stock Holdings Increased by Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC

Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 3.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,886 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 374 shares during the period. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $1,647,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Quantum Financial Planning Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter worth $422,000. Sonora Investment Management Group LLC increased its position in Oracle by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Sonora Investment Management Group LLC now owns 181,584 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $30,259,000 after purchasing an additional 4,098 shares during the last quarter. Oak Harvest Investment Services lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Oak Harvest Investment Services now owns 46,828 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $7,803,000 after buying an additional 324 shares during the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 518,313 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $86,372,000 after buying an additional 21,652 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mediolanum International Funds Ltd increased its holdings in Oracle by 104.2% in the fourth quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 229,948 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $38,286,000 after buying an additional 117,366 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Oracle news, CEO Safra Catz sold 345,174 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.56, for a total transaction of $64,050,487.44. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,565,931.52. The trade was a 23.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Price Performance

Shares of Oracle stock opened at $170.41 on Friday. Oracle Co. has a 1-year low of $106.51 and a 1-year high of $198.31. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $172.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $163.03. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $476.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.66, a P/E/G ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 1.06.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates 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 in the prior year, the business earned $1.34 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on ORCL. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Oracle from $173.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Oracle from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Mizuho raised their target price on Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $182.73.

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.