Townsquare Capital LLC Purchases 202,671 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Townsquare Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 118.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 373,956 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after buying an additional 202,671 shares during the quarter. Oracle accounts for 0.8% of Townsquare Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. Townsquare Capital LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $63,722,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 worth $411,748,000 after purchasing an additional 121,874 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. lifted its stake in Oracle by 15.3% during the 2nd quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 24,800 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $3,502,000 after acquiring an additional 3,300 shares during the period. Chase Investment Counsel Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 3rd quarter valued at about $4,160,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Oracle by 79.6% in the third quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 286,460 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $48,813,000 after acquiring an additional 126,985 shares during the period. Finally, Buckley Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 63.8% during the third quarter. Buckley Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,370 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,256,000 after purchasing an additional 2,870 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total value of $1,042,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 42,889 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,076,685. The trade was a 12.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ORCL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Oracle from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. StockNews.com raised Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. UBS Group reissued a “market outperform” rating on shares of Oracle in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Oracle from $140.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of Oracle from $105.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Oracle currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $169.52.

Oracle Price Performance

Oracle stock opened at $190.36 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $527.49 billion, a PE ratio of 49.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.02. Oracle Co. has a 12-month low of $99.26 and a 12-month high of $196.04. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $176.44 and a 200-day moving average price of $150.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, September 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.06. Oracle had a return on equity of 171.38% and a net margin of 20.40%. The firm had revenue of $13.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.23 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.95 EPS. Oracle’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.24%.

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.