Brown Advisory Inc. Buys 13,038 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 5.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 248,709 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after buying an additional 13,038 shares during the quarter. Brown Advisory Inc.'s holdings in Oracle were worth $41,445,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ORCL. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Oracle in the fourth quarter worth $2,216,314,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Oracle during the 4th quarter valued at $930,095,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position 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 acquiring an additional 2,296,069 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Oracle by 268.4% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position 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 valued at $3,269,566,000 after buying an additional 2,176,892 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company's stock.

Oracle Price Performance

Oracle stock traded up $1.59 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $149.29. The stock had a trading volume of 6,049,274 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,422,139. Oracle Co. has a 1-year low of $114.55 and a 1-year high of $198.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The stock's fifty day moving average is $142.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $163.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $417.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.50, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.27.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $14.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.40 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. Oracle's revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.41 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. 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. Oracle's payout ratio is currently 46.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on ORCL. Piper Sandler reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $130.00 price target (down from $190.00) on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. StockNews.com cut Oracle from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $220.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating and set a $205.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Bank of America cut their price objective on Oracle from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Oracle has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $174.42.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In related news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,866 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.53, for a total value of $428,552.98. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 31,764 shares in the company, valued at $4,749,670.92. This trade represents a 8.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 17,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.24, for a total transaction of $2,646,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 58,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,785,531.60. This trade represents a 23.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 27,366 shares of company stock valued at $4,015,723. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.