Fisher Funds Management LTD Takes Position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Fisher Funds Management LTD acquired a new position in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 162,864 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock, valued at approximately $27,066,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wealth Group Ltd. bought a new stake in Oracle in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $222,000. Howard Capital Management Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Oracle by 12.4% during the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 8,019 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,366,000 after acquiring an additional 883 shares in the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Oracle in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,266,000. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated boosted its stake in shares of Oracle by 15.3% in the 3rd quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 5,877 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $959,000 after purchasing an additional 778 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trueblood Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Oracle by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,694 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $2,163,000 after purchasing an additional 443 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Stock Performance

Shares of Oracle stock opened at $167.92 on Friday. 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $168.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $167.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $469.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.06, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.05. Oracle Co. has a 12 month low of $109.66 and a 12 month high of $198.31.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $14.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.34 EPS. Oracle’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.12%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the 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 owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at $207,331,027.20. This represents a 65.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ORCL has been the subject of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Oracle from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Oracle from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. StockNews.com downgraded Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald cut shares of Oracle to an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Oracle has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $182.73.

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.