Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Grows Stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 13.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,425 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,683 shares during the quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $5,237,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ORCL. Howard Capital Management Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Oracle by 12.4% in 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. increased its holdings in shares of Oracle by 5.3% in the 3rd 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 period. United Bank increased its holdings 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. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Oracle in the 3rd quarter valued at $70,000. Finally, Moran Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Oracle in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,882,000. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 42.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Oracle Price Performance

Shares of Oracle stock opened at $152.83 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. Oracle Co. has a twelve month low of $112.78 and a twelve month high of $198.31. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $164.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $169.85. The firm has a market cap of $427.45 billion, a PE ratio of 37.37, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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). Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The business had revenue of $14.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.41 EPS. Oracle’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The company 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. This is a positive change from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Oracle’s payout ratio is 46.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ORCL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Mizuho lifted their price target on Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. StockNews.com cut Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. UBS Group reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Oracle from $212.00 to $202.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Oracle from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Oracle has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $179.20.

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.