Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Holdings Raised by Artisan Partners Limited Partnership

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership increased its position in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 38.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,570,021 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 983,955 shares during the quarter. Oracle accounts for about 0.9% of Artisan Partners Limited Partnership’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership owned about 0.13% of Oracle worth $594,908,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Oracle by 9.6% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,589,264 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $430,646,000 after acquiring an additional 227,212 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP boosted its position in Oracle by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 1,253,272 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $208,845,000 after purchasing an additional 32,160 shares during the period. Tyler Stone Wealth Management grew its stake in Oracle by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Tyler Stone Wealth Management now owns 4,475 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $746,000 after buying an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Aviso Wealth Management increased its position in Oracle by 23.7% in the fourth quarter. Aviso Wealth Management now owns 4,355 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $726,000 after buying an additional 833 shares during the period. Finally, Borer Denton & Associates Inc. lifted its stake in Oracle by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Borer Denton & Associates Inc. now owns 59,124 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $9,852,000 after buying an additional 2,290 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In other news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Trading Down 4.0 %

Shares of NYSE:ORCL opened at $147.71 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $413.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.12, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. Oracle Co. has a 1-year low of $112.78 and a 1-year high of $198.31. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $164.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $170.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $14.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.40 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.41 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This is an increase from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle’s payout ratio is presently 46.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ORCL has been the subject of several recent research reports. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Oracle from $194.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $205.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded Oracle from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Thirteen investment 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Oracle presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.