Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) is Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC’s 6th Largest Position

Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC reduced its position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,881,993 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 135,408 shares during the period. Oracle accounts for about 3.2% of Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC owned approximately 0.21% of Oracle worth $980,175,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Katamaran Capital LLP purchased a new stake in Oracle during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,448,000. Aviva PLC grew its holdings in shares of Oracle by 22.6% during the fourth quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 998,176 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $166,336,000 after buying an additional 183,941 shares during the last quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at $81,547,000. Leeward Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in Oracle in the 4th quarter worth $3,501,000. Finally, Prudential PLC lifted its position in Oracle by 9.4% during the 4th quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 176,592 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $29,427,000 after acquiring an additional 15,102 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.81, for a total transaction of $291,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 34,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,049,400.30. This trade represents a 5.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Safra Catz sold 345,174 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.56, for a total transaction of $64,050,487.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at $207,565,931.52. The trade was a 23.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 2,448,328 shares of company stock valued at $453,791,001 in the last ninety days. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $220.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research note on Thursday. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $150.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their price target on shares of Oracle from $214.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada set a $145.00 price objective on Oracle and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Oracle presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $178.65.

Oracle Stock Performance

NYSE ORCL opened at $128.17 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $160.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $169.33. The company has a market cap of $358.48 billion, a PE ratio of 31.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.22. 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 data on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.02). Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The firm had revenue of $14.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.40 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.41 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The firm 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 $0.50 dividend. This is an increase from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.56%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.95%.

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.