Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Acquired by Polar Capital Holdings Plc

Polar Capital Holdings Plc increased its holdings in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 57.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 759,307 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after acquiring an additional 276,062 shares during the quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc's holdings in Oracle were worth $126,531,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ORCL. Prana Capital Management LP lifted its position in Oracle by 44.5% during the fourth quarter. Prana Capital Management LP now owns 59,895 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $9,981,000 after purchasing an additional 18,442 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Oracle by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 366,034 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $60,996,000 after acquiring an additional 20,991 shares during the period. Prodigy Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Oracle during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $340,000. Quadcap Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Oracle by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Quadcap Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,736 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $1,789,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares during the period. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Oracle by 12.8% during the 4th quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 168,032 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $28,001,000 after acquiring an additional 19,079 shares during the period. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on ORCL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Oracle from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. DA Davidson cut their target price on Oracle from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Mizuho lowered their price target on Oracle from $210.00 to $180.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Oracle from $205.00 to $175.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Oracle from $200.00 to $185.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Fourteen 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Oracle has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $174.42.

Oracle Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ORCL traded up $1.31 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $161.80. 3,579,838 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,457,090. The company's 50 day moving average price is $142.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $162.45. The firm has a market cap of $452.55 billion, a PE ratio of 39.52, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.27. Oracle Co. has a 52 week low of $114.55 and a 52 week high of $198.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.40 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The business's revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.41 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders 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 a boost 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

In related news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 11th. The stock was 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 owns 58,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,538,339.30. This represents a 7.93% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 27,366 shares of company stock worth $4,015,723. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.