Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Acquired by WASHINGTON TRUST Co

WASHINGTON TRUST Co lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 2.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 18,045 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 510 shares during the period. WASHINGTON TRUST Co’s holdings in Oracle were worth $3,007,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Oracle by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 70,441,556 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $12,003,241,000 after buying an additional 1,847,561 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Oracle by 2.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,194,683 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $5,977,015,000 after purchasing an additional 885,041 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Oracle by 11.6% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 18,480,384 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $3,370,640,000 after buying an additional 1,917,416 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in Oracle by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 17,898,029 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $3,049,824,000 after purchasing an additional 310,709 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 0.4% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 14,608,951 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $2,489,345,000 after buying an additional 54,868 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In other news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $207,331,027.20. This trade represents a 65.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 42.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Oracle Price Performance

ORCL stock opened at $173.50 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $485.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.05. 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 52-week low of $106.51 and a 52-week high of $198.31. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $169.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $165.35.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its quarterly 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 return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The business had revenue of $14.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.34 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup increased their price target on Oracle from $157.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on Oracle in a research note on Friday, January 17th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $214.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $165.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of Oracle from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Oracle from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.