Argus Investors Counsel Inc. Grows Position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Argus Investors Counsel Inc. raised its position in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 10.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 16,208 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,575 shares during the quarter. Oracle makes up approximately 1.7% of Argus Investors Counsel Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Argus Investors Counsel Inc.'s holdings in Oracle were worth $2,266,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Oracle by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 157,411,949 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $26,231,127,000 after acquiring an additional 2,296,069 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 38,002,902 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $6,332,803,000 after purchasing an additional 156,269 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Oracle by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,814,302 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $5,954,961,000 after purchasing an additional 619,619 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Oracle by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 20,202,421 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $3,366,531,000 after buying an additional 1,722,037 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Oracle by 12.5% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 19,620,534 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $3,269,566,000 after buying an additional 2,176,892 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 42.44% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ORCL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "buy" rating and issued a $240.00 target price (up previously from $200.00) on shares of Oracle in a report on Thursday. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $221.00 target price (up previously from $202.00) on shares of Oracle in a report on Friday. Evercore ISI reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $215.00 price target (up from $180.00) on shares of Oracle in a research report on Thursday. JMP Securities set a $240.00 price objective on Oracle and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Oracle from $156.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $194.32.

Oracle Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ORCL traded down $4.28 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $210.94. 22,586,151 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,678,126. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $152.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $160.31. Oracle Co. has a 12 month low of $118.86 and a 12 month high of $216.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $589.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.32. 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 (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.64 by $0.06. Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The company had revenue of $15.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.63 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.95%. Oracle's dividend payout ratio is presently 46.08%.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In related news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 17,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now owns 58,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,785,531.60. This trade represents a 23.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Vice Chairman Jeffrey Henley sold 400,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.42, for a total value of $76,168,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 1,097,576 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $209,000,421.92. This trade represents a 26.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 427,366 shares of company stock valued at $80,183,723 over the last 90 days. 42.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.