Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Bought by Gables Capital Management Inc.

Gables Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 40.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,222 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after buying an additional 350 shares during the period. Gables Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $204,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of ORCL. Howard Capital Management Group LLC boosted its holdings 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 buying an additional 883 shares in the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc boosted its stake in Oracle by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 2,325,268 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $395,295,000 after purchasing an additional 53,128 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Oracle by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,416,362 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $411,748,000 after purchasing an additional 121,874 shares during the period. Summit Global Investments acquired a new stake in Oracle during the 3rd quarter worth $436,000. Finally, United Bank boosted its stake in Oracle by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 11,430 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,948,000 after purchasing an additional 519 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,331,027.20. This trade 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 is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Price Performance

Oracle stock opened at $148.87 on Tuesday. Oracle Co. has a 12-month low of $111.18 and a 12-month high of $198.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $416.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.40, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $167.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $169.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 period in the prior year, the business earned $1.41 earnings per share. Oracle’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The business 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 $0.50 dividend. This is a boost from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.34%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ORCL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Oracle to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $205.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group increased 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. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Oracle from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.