AQR Capital Management LLC Acquires 347,605 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 51.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,027,286 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after buying an additional 347,605 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC's holdings in Oracle were worth $171,033,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter worth about $2,216,314,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter valued at $930,095,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Oracle by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 157,411,949 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $26,231,127,000 after purchasing an additional 2,296,069 shares during the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Oracle by 268.4% during the 4th quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 3,077,947 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $512,909,000 after purchasing an additional 2,242,520 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Oracle by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 19,620,534 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $3,269,566,000 after purchasing an additional 2,176,892 shares during the period. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Oracle Stock Performance

Oracle stock traded down $0.02 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $140.77. 9,354,616 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,375,498. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. Oracle Co. has a 12 month low of $113.65 and a 12 month high of $198.31. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $144.46 and a 200 day moving average of $164.27. The firm has a market cap of $393.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.42, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.22.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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). The firm had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.40 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.41 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This is an increase from Oracle's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.42%. Oracle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on ORCL shares. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Oracle from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Oracle from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Oracle from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Oracle from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Oracle from $220.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Fourteen 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, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $174.42.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In other news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.77, for a total transaction of $648,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 58,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,538,339.30. The trade was a 7.93 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.81, for a total transaction of $291,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 34,630 shares of the company's stock, 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. Company insiders own 42.20% of the company's stock.

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.