Wright Investors Service Inc. Buys 1,866 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Wright Investors Service Inc. raised its stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 6.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 30,082 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,866 shares during the period. Oracle comprises 1.6% of Wright Investors Service Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Wright Investors Service Inc.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $5,013,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Oracle by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,416,362 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $411,748,000 after buying an additional 121,874 shares in the last quarter. RMR Wealth Builders grew its holdings in Oracle by 383.4% during the 4th quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 7,155 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,192,000 after acquiring an additional 5,675 shares in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. increased its position in Oracle by 15.3% during the 2nd quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 24,800 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $3,502,000 after purchasing an additional 3,300 shares during the period. Chase Investment Counsel Corp bought a new stake in shares of Oracle in the 3rd quarter valued at about $4,160,000. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Oracle by 79.6% in the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 286,460 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $48,813,000 after purchasing an additional 126,985 shares during the period. 42.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on ORCL. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Oracle from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Oracle from $173.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Guggenheim raised their price objective on Oracle from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Melius Research upgraded shares of Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $181.48.

Oracle Stock Performance

NYSE ORCL opened at $153.73 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.81. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $177.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $161.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $429.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.06. Oracle Co. has a fifty-two week low of $105.42 and a fifty-two week high of $198.31.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.48 by ($0.01). Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The firm had revenue of $14.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.12 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.34 earnings per share. Oracle’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.12%.

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.