Minneapolis Portfolio Management Group LLC Has $35.67 Million Stock Holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Minneapolis Portfolio Management Group LLC lowered its holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 0.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 214,044 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 626 shares during the period. Oracle comprises about 4.7% of Minneapolis Portfolio Management Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Minneapolis Portfolio Management Group LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $35,668,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ORCL. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at about $930,095,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position 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 valued at $26,231,127,000 after acquiring an additional 2,296,069 shares during the period. Polen Capital Management LLC lifted its stake 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 worth $1,787,003,000 after buying an additional 1,955,764 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Oracle by 11.6% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 18,480,384 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $3,370,640,000 after buying an additional 1,917,416 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of 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. Institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

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 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $207,331,027.20. The trade was a 65.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of Oracle stock opened at $152.83 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $427.45 billion, a PE ratio of 37.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $164.87 and its 200 day moving average is $170.27. Oracle Co. has a 1 year low of $112.78 and a 1 year high of $198.31.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its quarterly 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). The company had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.40 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.41 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This is a positive change from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.31%. Oracle’s payout ratio is 46.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on ORCL. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $205.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Oracle from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Bank of America cut their target price 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. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Oracle from $212.00 to $202.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Oracle presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.20.

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.