Franklin Resources Inc. Raises Stock Position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 9.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 20,202,421 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,722,037 shares during the quarter. Oracle comprises about 0.9% of Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $3,366,531,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of ORCL. Riggs Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Oracle during the 4th quarter valued at about $226,000. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG now owns 163,583 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $27,256,000 after acquiring an additional 9,896 shares in the last quarter. Seven Mile Advisory increased its stake in shares of Oracle by 32.4% during the 4th quarter. Seven Mile Advisory now owns 5,777 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $963,000 after purchasing an additional 1,413 shares during the last quarter. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $139,000. Finally, Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. boosted its holdings in Oracle by 128.3% in the 4th quarter. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. now owns 36,525 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $6,087,000 after purchasing an additional 20,527 shares during the period. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on ORCL shares. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their target price on shares of Oracle from $214.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $220.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Oracle from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on Oracle from $194.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Oracle news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.35, for a total transaction of $389,448,893.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at $207,331,027.20. This represents a 65.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Oracle Stock Down 3.5 %

Shares of NYSE ORCL opened at $140.75 on Monday. Oracle Co. has a 52-week low of $112.78 and a 52-week high of $198.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $393.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.41, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $163.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $170.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 analyst estimates of $14.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.41 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side 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 issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.42%. This is an increase from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.95%.

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.