Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC Has $2.46 Million Holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 22.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 14,740 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after acquiring an additional 2,740 shares during the quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC's holdings in Oracle were worth $2,456,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ORCL. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 2,296,069 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 38,002,902 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $6,332,803,000 after buying an additional 156,269 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 worth $5,954,961,000 after buying an additional 619,619 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 9.3% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 20,202,421 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $3,366,531,000 after buying an additional 1,722,037 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings 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 period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In other news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of the company's 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 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 represents a 5.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.24, for a total transaction of $2,646,700.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 58,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,785,531.60. This represents a 23.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 27,366 shares of company stock valued at $4,015,723 in the last quarter. Insiders own 42.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ORCL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Westpark Capital started coverage on Oracle in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $195.00 price target on the stock. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $130.00 price target (down previously from $190.00) on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. StockNews.com cut Oracle from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Oracle from $194.00 to $160.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Oracle from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $174.42.

Oracle Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of ORCL traded up $0.91 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $160.31. The company had a trading volume of 8,495,670 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,449,471. The stock has a market cap of $448.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.27. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $142.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $162.66. Oracle Co. has a fifty-two week low of $114.55 and a fifty-two 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.

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). Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The firm had revenue of $14.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.41 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. This is an increase from Oracle's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle's dividend payout ratio is currently 46.95%.

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.