PGGM Investments Makes New Investment in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

PGGM Investments bought a new position in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 26,452 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,408,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at $930,095,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Oracle by 11.6% during 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 acquiring an additional 1,917,416 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Oracle by 2.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 70,441,556 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $12,003,241,000 after acquiring an additional 1,847,561 shares during the last quarter. Amundi increased its position in Oracle by 15.2% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 12,327,164 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $2,012,943,000 after purchasing an additional 1,623,609 shares during the period. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Oracle by 3,805.0% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 966,571 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $161,069,000 after purchasing an additional 941,819 shares during the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Oracle news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was 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 owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $207,331,027.20. The trade was a 65.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Stock Performance

Shares of Oracle stock opened at $147.41 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market cap of $412.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.04, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 stock’s 50-day moving average is $166.14 and its 200-day moving average is $169.34.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $14.40 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.41 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This is a boost from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.36%. Oracle’s payout ratio is 39.12%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on ORCL shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Oracle from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $150.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Oracle from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised Oracle from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Oracle from $205.00 to $175.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Oracle has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $179.71.

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.