Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Bought by Ethic Inc.

Ethic Inc. boosted its stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 12.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 180,160 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after purchasing an additional 20,106 shares during the period. Oracle comprises approximately 0.6% of Ethic Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in Oracle were worth $30,022,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Requisite Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Oracle by 2.8% in 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. increased its stake 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 valued at $237,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp raised its holdings in Oracle by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 5,447 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $908,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. Warther Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Oracle by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Warther Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,621 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $603,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Finally, Howard Bailey Securities LLC grew its holdings in Oracle by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Howard Bailey Securities LLC now owns 2,274 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $379,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In related news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 17,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.24, for a total value 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 represents a 23.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available 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 owns 34,630 shares in the company, valued at $5,049,400.30. This represents a 5.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 27,366 shares of company stock valued at $4,015,723 over the last 90 days. 42.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Oracle Trading Down 0.1 %

NYSE:ORCL traded down $0.12 on Friday, reaching $150.18. 4,698,183 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,455,271. The business has a fifty day moving average of $142.12 and a 200-day moving average of $162.95. 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 52-week low of $114.55 and a 52-week high of $198.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $420.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.27.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 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%. The business's revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.41 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.33%. This is a positive change from Oracle's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. Oracle's dividend payout ratio is presently 46.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ORCL. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Oracle from $200.00 to $185.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Oracle from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Oracle from $220.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Stephens started coverage on Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $167.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on Oracle from $194.00 to $160.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $174.42.

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.