Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Position Raised by Blue Whale Capital LLP

Blue Whale Capital LLP lifted its position in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 34.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 338,799 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 86,957 shares during the period. Oracle comprises approximately 4.2% of Blue Whale Capital LLP’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position. Blue Whale Capital LLP’s holdings in Oracle were worth $56,457,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ORCL. Howard Capital Management Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Oracle by 12.4% in the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 8,019 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,366,000 after purchasing an additional 883 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Oracle by 5.3% during the third 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. United Bank increased its holdings in shares of Oracle by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 11,430 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,948,000 after acquiring an additional 519 shares during the period. Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new stake in Oracle in the 3rd quarter valued at $2,590,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Oracle by 27.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 57,424 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $9,785,000 after purchasing an additional 12,302 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In other Oracle news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.81, for a total value of $291,620.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 34,630 shares in the company, valued at $5,049,400.30. The trade was a 5.46 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was 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 approximately $207,331,027.20. The trade was a 65.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 2,448,328 shares of company stock valued at $453,791,001 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ORCL. UBS Group restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Oracle from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. BNP Paribas raised Oracle to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Oracle from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Westpark Capital started coverage on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $195.00 price target on the stock. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Oracle presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $178.65.

Oracle Price Performance

Oracle stock opened at $128.17 on Monday. 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 company has a market cap of $358.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.34, a PEG 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. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $160.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $169.38.

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

Oracle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This is an increase from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is 46.95%.

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.