19,133 Shares in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Acquired by Cercano Management LLC

Cercano Management LLC bought a new stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 19,133 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,188,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Oracle by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 157,411,949 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $26,231,127,000 after buying an additional 2,296,069 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Oracle by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 38,002,902 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $6,332,803,000 after acquiring an additional 156,269 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Oracle by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,814,302 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $5,954,961,000 after acquiring an additional 619,619 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Oracle by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 20,202,421 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $3,366,531,000 after acquiring an additional 1,722,037 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Oracle by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 19,620,534 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $3,269,566,000 after purchasing an additional 2,176,892 shares during the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. DA Davidson dropped their target price on shares of Oracle from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Westpark Capital began coverage on Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $195.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Oracle from $205.00 to $175.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. JMP Securities reissued a "market outperform" rating and issued a $205.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Oracle from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Oracle currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $174.42.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In related news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.77, for a total value of $648,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 58,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,538,339.30. This trade represents a 7.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.81, for a total value of $291,620.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 34,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,049,400.30. The trade was a 5.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 42.20% of the company's stock.

Oracle Stock Performance

NYSE:ORCL opened at $149.24 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $143.16 and a two-hundred day moving average of $163.56. Oracle Co. has a fifty-two week low of $114.55 and a fifty-two week high of $198.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $417.42 billion, a PE ratio of 36.49, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.27. 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 - Get Free Report) last issued 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 net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The company had revenue of $14.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.40 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.41 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.34%. This is a boost from Oracle's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. Oracle's payout ratio is presently 46.95%.

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.

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