Hendershot Investments Inc. Increases Stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Hendershot Investments Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 100,101 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after buying an additional 992 shares during the period. Oracle comprises approximately 2.3% of Hendershot Investments Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Hendershot Investments Inc.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $17,057,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Oracle by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 70,441,556 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $12,003,241,000 after acquiring an additional 1,847,561 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in Oracle by 1.8% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 17,898,029 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $3,049,824,000 after purchasing an additional 310,709 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in Oracle by 0.4% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 14,608,951 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $2,489,345,000 after purchasing an additional 54,868 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in Oracle by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 13,242,340 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,869,816,000 after purchasing an additional 296,866 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of Oracle by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 11,474,912 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,955,325,000 after buying an additional 691,193 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Stock Performance

Shares of ORCL opened at $191.68 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $531.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.40, a P/E/G ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.72. Oracle Co. has a 1 year low of $99.26 and a 1 year high of $196.04. The company’s fifty day moving average is $178.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $153.32.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, September 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.06. Oracle had a net margin of 20.40% and a return on equity of 171.38%. The firm had revenue of $13.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.95 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.24%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on ORCL. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Oracle from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Oracle from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of Oracle from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Oracle from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $171.52.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In other Oracle news, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total value of $1,042,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 42,889 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,076,685. This represents a 12.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 42.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Oracle Company 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.