Lazard Asset Management LLC Boosts Stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 43.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 292,805 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after buying an additional 89,066 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC's holdings in Oracle were worth $48,792,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ORCL. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 2,296,069 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its stake in Oracle by 0.4% in the 4th 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 grew its stake in Oracle by 1.8% in the 4th 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 purchasing an additional 619,619 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 1,722,037 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Oracle by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 19,620,534 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $3,269,566,000 after purchasing an additional 2,176,892 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 42.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ORCL. Stephens began coverage on Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $167.00 price target on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their price target on Oracle from $214.00 to $175.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised Oracle from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. StockNews.com cut Oracle from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Oracle from $200.00 to $185.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $174.42.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In related news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 5,000 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 11th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $7,538,339.30. The trade was a 7.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.81, for a total value of $291,620.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 34,630 shares in the company, valued at $5,049,400.30. This represents a 5.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 27,366 shares of company stock worth $4,015,723 over the last ninety days. 42.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Oracle Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of ORCL stock traded up $0.91 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $160.31. The company's stock had a trading volume of 8,495,670 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,479,850. The stock has a market capitalization of $448.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.20, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.27. Oracle Co. has a one year low of $114.55 and a one year high of $198.31. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $142.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $162.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick 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 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $14.40 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. Oracle's quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.41 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS 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 given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. This is a positive change from Oracle's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.25%. Oracle's payout ratio is currently 46.95%.

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.