Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. Has $32.71 Million Stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 9.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 191,938 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,297 shares during the period. Oracle makes up about 0.9% of Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $32,706,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of ORCL. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Oracle during the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Oracle during the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Oracle during the second quarter worth approximately $35,000. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. bought a new stake in shares of Oracle during the first quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Oracle during the second quarter worth approximately $40,000. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ORCL. StockNews.com raised shares of Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Friday, October 18th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Oracle from $160.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Oracle from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on shares of Oracle from $201.00 to $202.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $169.52.

Oracle Stock Down 4.0 %

ORCL traded down $7.67 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $182.70. 8,368,797 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,262,293. Oracle Co. has a 1-year low of $99.26 and a 1-year high of $196.04. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $176.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $150.89. The stock has a market cap of $506.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.10, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its earnings results on Monday, September 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.06. Oracle had a net margin of 20.40% and a return on equity of 171.38%. The business had revenue of $13.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.95 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.24%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total value of $1,042,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 42,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,076,685. This trade represents a 12.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

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.