Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Acquires Shares of 1,296,491 Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in shares of 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 acquired 1,296,491 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock, valued at approximately $216,047,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ORCL. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Oracle by 201.7% in the fourth quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,599 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $266,000 after buying an additional 1,069 shares in the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Oracle by 24.8% in the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 164,593 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $27,428,000 after buying an additional 32,718 shares in the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in Oracle in the fourth quarter worth about $1,800,000. Boston Trust Walden Corp raised its stake in Oracle by 40.8% in the fourth quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 564,030 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $93,990,000 after buying an additional 163,543 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CENTRAL TRUST Co raised its stake in Oracle by 10.8% in the fourth quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 43,851 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $7,307,000 after buying an additional 4,259 shares in the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on ORCL shares. KeyCorp reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Oracle from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their target price on shares of Oracle from $214.00 to $175.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Oracle from $194.00 to $160.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Westpark Capital started coverage on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a "buy" rating and a $195.00 target price for the company. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $174.42.

Oracle Price Performance

NYSE ORCL traded down $1.96 on Thursday, reaching $161.89. The company had a trading volume of 3,724,844 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,481,743. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $452.80 billion, a PE ratio of 39.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.27. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $144.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $161.61. Oracle Co. has a 12 month low of $114.55 and a 12 month high of $198.31.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $14.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.41 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.24%. This is an increase from Oracle's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. Oracle's dividend payout ratio is presently 46.95%.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In other Oracle news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.77, for a total value of $648,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 58,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,538,339.30. The trade was a 7.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now directly owns 34,630 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,049,400.30. This trade represents a 5.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 27,366 shares of company stock worth $4,015,723. Insiders own 42.20% of the company's stock.

Oracle Company 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.