47,600 Shares in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Acquired by Premier Fund Managers Ltd

Premier Fund Managers Ltd bought a new position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 47,600 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock, valued at approximately $7,943,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Howard Capital Management Group LLC grew its position in shares of Oracle by 12.4% during the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 8,019 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,366,000 after acquiring an additional 883 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Oracle by 5.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,416,362 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $411,748,000 after acquiring an additional 121,874 shares during the last quarter. United Bank raised its stake in shares of Oracle by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 11,430 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,948,000 after acquiring an additional 519 shares during the period. Cadence Bank grew its position in Oracle by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Cadence Bank now owns 7,605 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,296,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Freedom Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Oracle by 3.0% in the third quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. now owns 9,723 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,657,000 after purchasing an additional 281 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ORCL opened at $145.88 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $164.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $170.11. Oracle Co. has a fifty-two week low of $112.78 and a fifty-two week high of $198.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $408.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. 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 (NYSE:ORCL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.40 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.41 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a boost from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.37%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on ORCL shares. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Oracle from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. UBS Group reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Stephens initiated coverage on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $167.00 price objective for the company. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised shares of Oracle from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their target price on shares of Oracle from $214.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $179.20.

Insider Activity at Oracle

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

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.