LGT Group Foundation Buys 1,711 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

LGT Group Foundation increased its stake in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 78,705 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,711 shares during the quarter. LGT Group Foundation’s holdings in Oracle were worth $13,115,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in 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 during the period. TFC Financial Management Inc. lifted its holdings in 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 during the period. Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Finally, Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In other news, CEO Safra Catz sold 345,174 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.56, for a total value of $64,050,487.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $207,565,931.52. This trade represents a 23.58 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 42.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ORCL has been the topic of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $165.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered shares of Oracle to an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Oracle from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Oracle to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $182.73.

Oracle Stock Up 0.8 %

Oracle stock opened at $166.09 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $464.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.05. Oracle Co. has a 1-year low of $110.36 and a 1-year high of $198.31. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $168.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $168.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its earnings results on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $14.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.12 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.34 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 23rd were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.12%.

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.