Armis Advisers LLC Takes $463,000 Position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Armis Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 2,776 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock, valued at approximately $463,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Oracle by 1.5% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Oracle by 0.4% in 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 acquiring an additional 156,269 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Oracle by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,814,302 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $5,954,961,000 after acquiring an additional 619,619 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Oracle by 9.3% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 20,202,421 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $3,366,531,000 after acquiring an additional 1,722,037 shares in the last quarter. 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 purchasing an additional 2,176,892 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on ORCL. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Oracle from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price objective on shares of Oracle from $214.00 to $175.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Oracle from $205.00 to $175.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Oracle from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $220.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $174.42.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In other news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 17,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 58,090 shares in the company, valued at $8,785,531.60. This trade represents a 23.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,866 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.53, for a total transaction of $428,552.98. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 31,764 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,749,670.92. This trade represents a 8.28% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 27,366 shares of company stock worth $4,015,723 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 42.20% of the company's stock.

Oracle Trading Up 3.8%

Shares of NYSE ORCL traded up $5.87 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $161.84. 6,969,407 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,499,682. The company has a market capitalization of $452.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.57, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.27. Oracle Co. has a 52-week low of $114.55 and a 52-week high of $198.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $143.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $161.60.

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

Oracle Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. This is a boost from Oracle's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.24%. Oracle's payout ratio is currently 46.95%.

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.