Baxter Bros Inc. Raises Holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Baxter Bros Inc. raised its position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 9.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,785 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the period. Baxter Bros Inc.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $297,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ORCL. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter valued at about $930,095,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Oracle by 1.5% during the fourth 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 during the period. Polen Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Oracle by 22.3% in the 4th quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC now owns 10,723,731 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,787,003,000 after purchasing an additional 1,955,764 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Oracle by 11.6% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 18,480,384 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $3,370,640,000 after buying an additional 1,917,416 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp raised 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 valued at $12,003,241,000 after buying an additional 1,847,561 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the business’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 owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at $207,331,027.20. The trade was a 65.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE:ORCL opened at $154.98 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $164.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $170.36. Oracle Co. has a twelve month low of $112.78 and a twelve month high of $198.31. 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 company has a market capitalization of $433.46 billion, a PE ratio of 37.89, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $14.40 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.41 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This is a positive change from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.29%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Oracle from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Oracle from $210.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $220.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Oracle from $212.00 to $202.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Oracle from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.20.

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.