Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Grows Stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 6.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,599,560 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 101,507 shares during the quarter. Oracle makes up about 0.7% of Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned 0.06% of Oracle worth $168,642,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Oracle in the 4th quarter worth about $1,210,181,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Oracle by 9,299.3% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,170,999 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $865,472,000 after purchasing an additional 8,084,067 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Oracle by 5.7% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 147,273,413 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $15,599,200,000 after purchasing an additional 7,883,515 shares during the period. Boston Partners raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 382.4% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,563,366 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $481,820,000 after purchasing an additional 3,617,413 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DNB Asset Management AS raised its position in shares of Oracle by 313.4% during the fourth quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 1,766,621 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $186,255,000 after purchasing an additional 1,339,311 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Stock Performance

Oracle stock traded down $1.18 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $122.91. 7,135,041 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,001,117. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $121.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $114.89. Oracle Co. has a twelve month low of $98.77 and a twelve month high of $132.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.34, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market cap of $337.82 billion, a PE ratio of 32.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.03.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.04. Oracle had a net margin of 20.27% and a return on equity of 336.11%. The business had revenue of $13.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.29 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.96 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 24th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.30%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 9th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.22%.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In other Oracle news, CEO Safra Catz sold 790,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.54, for a total transaction of $99,966,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $141,546,631.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director George H. Conrades sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.00, for a total transaction of $2,320,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 17,836 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,068,976. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Safra Catz sold 790,000 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.54, for a total transaction of $99,966,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $141,546,631.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 880,000 shares of company stock valued at $110,488,150 in the last quarter. Insiders own 42.80% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ORCL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on Oracle in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Oracle from $126.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 12th. HSBC increased their price target on Oracle from $144.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Argus raised Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, William Blair raised shares of Oracle from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 12th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $130.76.

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.