Intech Investment Management LLC Grows Stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 605,244 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after buying an additional 18,012 shares during the quarter. Oracle makes up approximately 0.9% of Intech Investment Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $63,811,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Oracle by 5.7% during 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 acquiring an additional 7,883,515 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Oracle by 3.5% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 18,718,180 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,982,630,000 after buying an additional 635,994 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Oracle by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,909,069 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,223,775,000 after acquiring an additional 204,546 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,210,181,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,471,884 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $897,342,000 after acquiring an additional 89,876 shares during the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on ORCL. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on shares of Oracle in a report on Thursday, April 18th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Argus upgraded Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. HSBC lifted their price target on shares of Oracle from $144.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 9th. Finally, William Blair raised Oracle from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 12th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $130.76.

Oracle Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ORCL traded down $1.18 on Friday, hitting $122.91. The company had a trading volume of 7,173,435 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,129,077. Oracle Co. has a 52-week low of $98.77 and a 52-week high of $132.77. The company has a market cap of $337.82 billion, a PE ratio of 32.43, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.03. The business has a 50 day moving average of $121.31 and a 200 day moving average of $115.03. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.34.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its earnings results on Monday, March 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.04. Oracle had a net margin of 20.27% and a return on equity of 336.11%. The firm had revenue of $13.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.29 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.96 earnings per share. Oracle’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders 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%.

About Oracle

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.