Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Position Boosted by Hollencrest Capital Management

Hollencrest Capital Management raised its position in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 4.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 6,565 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after buying an additional 264 shares during the period. Hollencrest Capital Management’s holdings in Oracle were worth $1,094,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ORCL. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 2.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 70,441,556 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $12,003,241,000 after purchasing an additional 1,847,561 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Oracle by 2.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,194,683 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $5,977,015,000 after buying an additional 885,041 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Oracle by 11.6% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 18,480,384 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $3,370,640,000 after purchasing an additional 1,917,416 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Oracle by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 17,995,664 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $2,998,798,000 after acquiring an additional 97,635 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in shares of Oracle by 0.4% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 14,608,951 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $2,489,345,000 after acquiring an additional 54,868 shares during the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 345,174 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.56, for a total value of $64,050,487.44. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,565,931.52. This represents a 23.58 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 42.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on ORCL. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Oracle from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. 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. KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a report on Tuesday. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Oracle from $200.00 to $185.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Oracle from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $178.92.

Oracle Stock Down 3.0 %

Shares of ORCL 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. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $166.82 and its 200-day moving average is $169.62. The stock has a market cap of $403.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.28, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. Oracle Co. has a 52-week low of $112.78 and a 52-week high of $198.31.

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

Oracle Increases Dividend

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

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.