GQG Partners LLC Has $9.09 Million Stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

GQG Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 188.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 54,534 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 35,601 shares during the period. GQG Partners LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $9,088,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Oracle by 89.7% in the 4th quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 184 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. TFC Financial Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Oracle by 129.0% during the 4th quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 213 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter worth $47,000. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ORCL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Stephens initiated coverage on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $167.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Oracle from $194.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Oracle from $205.00 to $175.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Oracle in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised Oracle to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $179.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Oracle 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 transaction of $389,448,893.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,331,027.20. This represents a 65.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of ORCL stock opened at $154.98 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $164.89 and a 200-day moving average of $170.36. 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 stock has a market cap of $433.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.89, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. Oracle Co. has a 1-year low of $112.78 and a 1-year high of $198.31.

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 the consensus estimate of $14.40 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.41 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.29%. This is a boost from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is 46.95%.

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.