E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB Buys 51,440 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB lifted its stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 212.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 75,640 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 51,440 shares during the quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB’s holdings in Oracle were worth $12,605,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ORCL. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 87 shares during the period. Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Oracle during the 3rd quarter worth $44,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Oracle during the fourth quarter valued at about $47,000. Finally, Avondale Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle in the third quarter valued at about $51,000. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.35, for a total transaction of $389,448,893.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $207,331,027.20. This trade represents a 65.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Stock Performance

Shares of ORCL opened at $168.60 on Tuesday. 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 Co. has a one year low of $106.51 and a one year high of $198.31. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $171.89 and a 200-day moving average of $163.58. The company has a market cap of $471.57 billion, a PE ratio of 41.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 1.05.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its 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). The business had revenue of $14.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.12 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The company’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.34 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.95%. Oracle’s payout ratio is 39.12%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ORCL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. BNP Paribas raised Oracle to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $205.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Monness Crespi & Hardt downgraded shares of Oracle from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $130.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Friday, December 20th. UBS Group upped their target price 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. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $182.73.

About Oracle

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.