BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp Boosts Holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp lifted its stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 4.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 518,716 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after buying an additional 20,761 shares during the period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp's holdings in Oracle were worth $86,439,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Oracle by 1.5% in 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 buying an additional 2,296,069 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in Oracle by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 38,002,902 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $6,332,803,000 after purchasing an additional 156,269 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in 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 during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Oracle by 9.3% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 20,202,421 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $3,366,531,000 after purchasing an additional 1,722,037 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Oracle by 12.5% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Oracle news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 17,500 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.24, for a total value of $2,646,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 58,090 shares in the company, valued at $8,785,531.60. This trade represents a 23.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction 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 approximately $5,049,400.30. This trade represents a 5.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 27,366 shares of company stock worth $4,015,723. 42.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Oracle Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE ORCL opened at $160.05 on Wednesday. Oracle Co. has a 1 year low of $114.55 and a 1 year high of $198.31. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $143.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $162.36. The firm has a market cap of $447.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.02). Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The firm had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.41 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate 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 given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.25%. This is a positive change from Oracle's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ORCL has been the topic of several research reports. KeyCorp reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Oracle from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and issued a $220.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. JMP Securities restated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $205.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada set a $145.00 price objective on shares of Oracle and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $174.42.

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.

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