Rafferty Asset Management LLC Increases Holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Rafferty Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 556,326 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after buying an additional 2,970 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC's holdings in Oracle were worth $92,706,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Requisite Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Oracle by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Requisite Capital Management LLC now owns 2,240 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $373,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. raised its position in shares of Oracle by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. now owns 1,423 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $237,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. McLean Asset Management Corp raised its position in Oracle by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 5,447 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $908,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Warther Private Wealth LLC raised its position in Oracle by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Warther Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,621 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $603,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Howard Bailey Securities LLC raised its position in Oracle by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Howard Bailey Securities LLC now owns 2,274 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $379,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on ORCL. Westpark Capital began coverage on Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $195.00 price target for the company. KeyCorp reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Piper Sandler reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $130.00 price target (down from $190.00) on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $220.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, UBS Group reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $174.42.

Oracle Stock Performance

Shares of ORCL traded up $0.91 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $160.31. The company's stock had a trading volume of 8,495,670 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,466,648. The company has a market cap of $448.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.20, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $142.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $162.57. Oracle Co. has a 52-week low of $114.55 and a 52-week high of $198.31.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.02). Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The company had revenue of $14.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.41 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were paid 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 1.25%. This is an increase from Oracle's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 5,000 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.77, for a total transaction of $648,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 58,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,538,339.30. This trade represents a 7.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company's stock, 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. Insiders sold a total of 27,366 shares of company stock worth $4,015,723 in the last quarter. 42.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.