Cetera Investment Advisers Buys 251,767 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 182.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 389,754 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after buying an additional 251,767 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers’ holdings in Oracle were worth $48,957,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ORCL. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Oracle by 1.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 151,213,890 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $18,993,977,000 after purchasing an additional 1,514,569 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its position in Oracle by 0.4% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 18,466,713 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $2,319,604,000 after purchasing an additional 82,551 shares during the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC increased its position in Oracle by 17.7% in the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 14,599,902 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,539,268,000 after purchasing an additional 2,191,342 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in Oracle by 148.8% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 12,872,300 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,616,855,000 after purchasing an additional 7,699,141 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Putnam Investments LLC increased its position in Oracle by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 12,339,385 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,300,941,000 after purchasing an additional 697,961 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Stock Down 3.1 %

Shares of ORCL traded down $4.23 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $133.28. 8,251,585 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,048,810. Oracle Co. has a 1-year low of $99.26 and a 1-year high of $146.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.25. The company has a market capitalization of $367.30 billion, a PE ratio of 35.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.02. The business has a 50 day moving average of $136.33 and a 200 day moving average of $124.26.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.65 by ($0.02). Oracle had a net margin of 19.76% and a return on equity of 223.01%. The company had revenue of $14.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.57 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.35 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5.02 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 11th were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 11th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.20%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.13%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ORCL has been the topic of several research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Oracle from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Oracle from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Oracle from $145.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Oracle from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $175.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $145.83.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In related news, Director Michael J. Boskin sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.74, for a total value of $5,298,300.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 87,473 shares in the company, valued at $10,299,071.02. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Oracle news, insider Edward Screven sold 235,918 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.30, for a total value of $34,042,967.40. Following the sale, the insider now owns 2,626,764 shares in the company, valued at approximately $379,042,045.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Michael J. Boskin sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.74, for a total value of $5,298,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 87,473 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,299,071.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,907,500 shares of company stock worth $272,074,924 over the last quarter. Insiders own 42.80% of the company’s stock.

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.