Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ Buys New Shares in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ bought a new stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 605,270 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock, valued at approximately $100,862,000. Oracle makes up approximately 1.2% of Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ's portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ORCL. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Oracle in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Oracle during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, TFC Financial Management Inc. lifted its stake in Oracle by 129.0% during the fourth quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 213 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ORCL shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Oracle from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded Oracle from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Mizuho lowered their target price on Oracle from $210.00 to $180.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. UBS Group reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price objective on Oracle from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $174.42.

Oracle Price Performance

ORCL stock traded down $0.93 during trading on Thursday, reaching $162.92. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,994,037 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,513,441. The company's fifty day moving average is $144.16 and its 200-day moving average is $161.61. Oracle Co. has a 1 year low of $114.55 and a 1 year high of $198.31. The company has a market capitalization of $455.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.27. 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 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 business had revenue of $14.13 billion during 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.41 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.23%. This is a positive change from Oracle's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Oracle news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,866 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.53, for a total value of $428,552.98. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 31,764 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,749,670.92. This trade represents a 8.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 5,000 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 11th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at $7,538,339.30. This represents a 7.93% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 27,366 shares of company stock worth $4,015,723. Corporate insiders own 42.20% of the company's stock.

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.