Intact Investment Management Inc. Makes New Investment in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Intact Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund bought 24,900 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,149,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Oracle by 89.7% in the fourth quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 184 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. TFC Financial Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Oracle by 129.0% in the fourth quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 213 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Stock Up 1.2 %

Oracle stock opened at $149.36 on Friday. Oracle Co. has a fifty-two week low of $112.78 and a fifty-two week high of $198.31. 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 company has a market capitalization of $417.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.52, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $165.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $169.41.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.40 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.41 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This is an increase from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.34%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In other Oracle news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.35, for a total transaction of $389,448,893.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,331,027.20. The trade was a 65.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 42.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Oracle from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Bank of America lowered their target price on Oracle from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $220.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Oracle from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Oracle from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Twelve 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.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.71.

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.