BOCHK Asset Management Ltd Acquires New Holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

BOCHK Asset Management Ltd acquired a new stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 63,100 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock, valued at approximately $10,515,000. Oracle comprises about 3.2% of BOCHK Asset Management Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,516,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in shares of Oracle by 20.0% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 169,108 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $23,878,000 after purchasing an additional 28,138 shares during the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Oracle by 7.0% during the 2nd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 8,300 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,172,000 after purchasing an additional 542 shares during the last quarter. Invst LLC boosted its stake in shares of Oracle by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. Invst LLC now owns 3,372 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $482,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Regal Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Oracle by 6.1% during the 2nd quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC now owns 13,123 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,853,000 after purchasing an additional 756 shares during the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Oracle Stock Performance

Oracle stock opened at $164.12 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $459.04 billion, a PE ratio of 40.13, a P/E/G ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $173.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $163.03. 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 Co. has a 12 month low of $106.51 and a 12 month high of $198.31.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $14.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.12 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.34 EPS. Research analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on ORCL shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Oracle to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on shares of Oracle in a report on Friday, January 17th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $214.00 price objective on the stock. KeyCorp increased their price objective on shares of Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $165.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a report on Thursday, December 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Oracle currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $182.73.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Oracle news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.35, for a total value of $389,448,893.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,331,027.20. This trade represents a 65.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.