O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC Purchases 10,015 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 3.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 282,892 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,015 shares during the quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $47,141,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 121,874 shares during the last quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Oracle by 201.7% during the fourth quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,599 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $266,000 after purchasing an additional 1,069 shares in the last quarter. RMR Wealth Builders grew its stake in shares of Oracle by 383.4% during the fourth quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 7,155 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,192,000 after purchasing an additional 5,675 shares during the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Oracle by 24.8% in the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 164,593 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $27,428,000 after purchasing an additional 32,718 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in Oracle in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,800,000. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on ORCL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Oracle from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Stephens initiated coverage on Oracle in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $167.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada set a $145.00 price objective on Oracle and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $220.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $179.20.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In other news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.35, for a total value 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 trade represents a 65.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 42.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Oracle Price Performance

Shares of ORCL opened at $140.75 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $393.67 billion, a PE ratio of 34.41, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $163.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $170.22. Oracle Co. has a 52-week low of $112.78 and a 52-week high of $198.31.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $14.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.40 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.41 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.42%. This is a positive change from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Oracle’s payout ratio is 46.95%.

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.