Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Bought by TIAA Trust National Association

TIAA Trust National Association increased its position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 10.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 327,969 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 31,260 shares during the quarter. TIAA Trust National Association’s holdings in Oracle were worth $54,653,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ORCL. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Oracle in the fourth quarter worth $930,095,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Oracle by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 157,411,949 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $26,231,127,000 after purchasing an additional 2,296,069 shares during the last quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Oracle by 22.3% during the 4th quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC now owns 10,723,731 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,787,003,000 after acquiring an additional 1,955,764 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Oracle by 11.6% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 18,480,384 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $3,370,640,000 after purchasing an additional 1,917,416 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Oracle by 2.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 70,441,556 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $12,003,241,000 after buying an additional 1,847,561 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ORCL opened at $154.98 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $433.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.89, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. Oracle Co. has a fifty-two week low of $112.78 and a fifty-two week high of $198.31. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $164.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $170.36.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.40 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.41 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.29%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.95%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ORCL. Stephens began coverage on shares of Oracle in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $167.00 price objective for the company. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Oracle from $212.00 to $202.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Oracle from $210.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. UBS Group restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $220.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Oracle has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $179.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Oracle news, CEO Safra Catz sold 345,174 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $207,565,931.52. This represents a 23.58 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.