Baird Financial Group Inc. Acquires 12,682 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 532,156 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after buying an additional 12,682 shares during the quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Oracle were worth $88,679,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ORCL. Requisite Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Oracle by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Requisite Capital Management LLC now owns 2,240 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $373,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. grew its position in shares of Oracle by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. now owns 1,423 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $237,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp increased its holdings in shares of Oracle by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 5,447 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $908,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Warther Private Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Oracle by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Warther Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,621 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $603,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Howard Bailey Securities LLC lifted its stake in Oracle by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Howard Bailey Securities LLC now owns 2,274 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $379,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on ORCL. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $220.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Oracle from $210.00 to $180.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Piper Sandler restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $130.00 target price (down from $190.00) on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Westpark Capital assumed coverage on Oracle in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a "buy" rating and a $195.00 target price for the company. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Oracle from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $174.42.

Oracle Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE ORCL traded down $1.49 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $149.24. 5,184,666 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,427,464. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. Oracle Co. has a 1 year low of $114.55 and a 1 year high of $198.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $417.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.49, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.27. The business has a 50 day moving average of $143.16 and a two-hundred day moving average of $163.56.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.40 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.41 earnings per share. Oracle's quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate 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 was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is an increase from Oracle's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.34%. Oracle's payout ratio is currently 46.95%.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In other Oracle news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 11th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $7,538,339.30. This represents a 7.93 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now directly owns 34,630 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,049,400.30. This trade represents a 5.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 42.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.