Geode Capital Management LLC Grows Position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 35,814,302 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 619,619 shares during the quarter. Oracle makes up about 0.5% of Geode Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Geode Capital Management LLC owned 1.28% of Oracle worth $5,954,961,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Howard Capital Management Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Oracle by 12.4% in the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 8,019 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,366,000 after purchasing an additional 883 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Oracle by 5.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,416,362 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $411,748,000 after purchasing an additional 121,874 shares during the period. United Bank increased its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 519 shares in the last quarter. Tradition Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Oracle by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Tradition Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,099 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $869,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the period. Finally, Paloma Partners Management Co raised its stake in shares of Oracle by 123.2% during the 3rd quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co now owns 15,710 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $2,677,000 after buying an additional 8,670 shares during the period. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on ORCL. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Oracle from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of Oracle from $210.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Oracle to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. StockNews.com cut Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Oracle from $205.00 to $175.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Thirteen investment 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $178.00.

Oracle Trading Down 0.6 %

ORCL opened at $140.07 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $391.77 billion, a PE ratio of 34.25, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. Oracle Co. has a one year low of $112.78 and a one year high of $198.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $163.52 and its 200 day moving average price is $170.16.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $14.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.40 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.41 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.43%. This is an increase from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Oracle’s payout ratio is 46.95%.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,331,027.20. The trade was a 65.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company 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.