Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Boosts Holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 19.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 265,256 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 43,272 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Oracle were worth $44,202,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Oracle by 18.8% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 4,408,839 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $734,689,000 after acquiring an additional 698,933 shares during the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. lifted its holdings in Oracle by 555,473.6% in the 4th quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 400,013 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $66,658,000 after purchasing an additional 399,941 shares in the last quarter. Tandem Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter worth about $414,000. Spectrum Asset Management Inc. NB CA grew its holdings in shares of Oracle by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Spectrum Asset Management Inc. NB CA now owns 28,270 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $4,711,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $18,791,000. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Oracle Price Performance

Shares of ORCL stock opened at $172.53 on Friday. Oracle Co. has a twelve month low of $106.51 and a twelve month high of $198.31. The company has a market capitalization of $482.56 billion, a PE ratio of 42.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 1.05. 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 firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $170.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $164.05.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its earnings results on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.48 by ($0.01). Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The business had revenue of $14.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.34 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Oracle’s payout ratio is 39.12%.

Insider Activity

In other Oracle news, CEO Safra Catz sold 345,174 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The shares were 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 $207,565,931.52. This represents a 23.58 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ORCL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Oracle from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on Oracle from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Oracle from $173.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt downgraded shares of Oracle from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $130.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Friday, December 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $182.73.

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.