Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Purchased by Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.

Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 116,463 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 425 shares during the period. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $19,408,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ORCL. Activest Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Oracle by 21.9% during the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 312 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Second Line Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Oracle by 1.5% in the third quarter. Second Line Capital LLC now owns 3,816 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $650,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Cadence Bank increased its stake in shares of Oracle by 0.8% in the third quarter. Cadence Bank now owns 7,605 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,296,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Requisite Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Oracle by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Requisite Capital Management LLC now owns 2,240 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $373,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. increased its stake in shares of Oracle by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. now owns 1,423 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $237,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,331,027.20. This represents a 65.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 42.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Oracle Stock Down 6.7 %

Shares of Oracle stock opened at $150.69 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $421.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.84, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $167.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $168.97. Oracle Co. has a 12-month low of $111.18 and a 12-month high of $198.31.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its earnings results on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $14.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.12 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.34 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.06%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is 39.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on ORCL. StockNews.com lowered shares of Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Oracle from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Oracle from $157.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Oracle to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $182.73.

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.