Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Acquired by Highland Capital Management LLC

Highland Capital Management LLC grew its position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 4.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 62,234 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,386 shares during the period. Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $10,371,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Oracle by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,416,362 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $411,748,000 after buying an additional 121,874 shares during the last quarter. RMR Wealth Builders lifted its holdings in Oracle by 383.4% during the 4th quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 7,155 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,192,000 after buying an additional 5,675 shares during the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 24.8% in the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 164,593 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $27,428,000 after purchasing an additional 32,718 shares during the last quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle in the 3rd quarter valued at about $4,160,000. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 79.6% in the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 286,460 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $48,813,000 after purchasing an additional 126,985 shares during the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Oracle Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of ORCL stock opened at $162.22 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $173.36 and its 200-day moving average is $163.03. The stock has a market cap of $453.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.66, a PEG ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 1.06. Oracle Co. has a 52-week low of $106.51 and a 52-week high of $198.31.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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). Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The company had revenue of $14.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.34 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5.01 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 23rd were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.99%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is 39.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ORCL. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Oracle from $173.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Citigroup upped their price target on Oracle from $157.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. KeyCorp raised their price target on Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $205.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Oracle from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $182.73.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.35, for a total transaction of $389,448,893.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $207,331,027.20. This trade represents a 65.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 42.20% of the stock is owned by 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.