Everest Management Corp. Invests $913,000 in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Everest Management Corp. bought a new stake in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 5,476 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock, valued at approximately $913,000. Oracle comprises 0.8% of Everest Management Corp.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ORCL. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter worth $2,216,314,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Oracle during the fourth quarter valued at about $930,095,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Oracle by 1.5% during 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. Polen Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 22.3% in the 4th quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC now owns 10,723,731 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $1,787,003,000 after purchasing an additional 1,955,764 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Oracle by 11.6% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 18,480,384 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $3,370,640,000 after purchasing an additional 1,917,416 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Oracle news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 5,000 shares of the 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 sale, the director now directly owns 58,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,538,339.30. This trade represents a 7.93 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.35, for a total value of $389,448,893.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares of the company's stock, valued at $207,331,027.20. This represents a 65.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 2,453,328 shares of company stock worth $454,439,851 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 42.20% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ORCL. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Oracle from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Stephens assumed coverage on shares of Oracle in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $167.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Oracle from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. KeyCorp reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada set a $145.00 target price on Oracle and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $176.73.

Oracle Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of Oracle stock traded down $1.20 during trading on Friday, hitting $128.56. The company's stock had a trading volume of 8,919,409 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,324,546. Oracle Co. has a 52 week low of $112.78 and a 52 week high of $198.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $150.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $166.33. The company has a market capitalization of $359.58 billion, a PE ratio of 31.43, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.22.

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

Oracle Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This is a positive change from Oracle's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle's payout ratio is currently 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.