Rakuten Securities Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 121.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,639 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 899 shares during the quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $273,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Oracle by 89.7% during the fourth quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 184 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. TFC Financial Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Oracle by 129.0% in the 4th quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 213 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the period. Finally, Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $150.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $165.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised shares of Oracle from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Oracle from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $178.92.

Oracle Price Performance

Oracle stock opened at $144.29 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. Oracle Co. has a one year low of $112.78 and a one year high of $198.31. The company has a market cap of $403.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. The business has a fifty day moving average of $166.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $169.62.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $14.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.40 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.41 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This is a boost from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is 39.12%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Oracle news, CEO Safra Catz sold 345,174 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.56, for a total transaction of $64,050,487.44. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $207,565,931.52. This represents a 23.58 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.