abrdn plc Increases Stock Position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

abrdn plc raised its position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 8.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 999,605 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 75,208 shares during the quarter. abrdn plc’s holdings in Oracle were worth $166,384,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Oracle by 16,023.4% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,065,083 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $351,890,000 after purchasing an additional 2,052,275 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Oracle by 11.6% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 18,480,384 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $3,370,640,000 after buying an additional 1,917,416 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Oracle by 2.7% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in shares of Oracle by 279.7% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,210,745 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $201,759,000 after acquiring an additional 891,842 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Oracle by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,194,683 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $5,977,015,000 after acquiring an additional 885,041 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Stock Down 0.9 %

Oracle stock opened at $168.60 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $171.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $163.58. Oracle Co. has a 1-year low of $106.51 and a 1-year high of $198.31. The company has a market cap of $471.57 billion, a PE ratio of 41.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by ($0.01). Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The company had revenue of $14.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.34 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.95%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on ORCL shares. StockNews.com upgraded Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of Oracle from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Oracle from $173.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $182.73.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,331,027.20. This represents a 65.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

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.