Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Acquires 116,568 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 581.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 136,603 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 116,568 shares during the quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $22,764,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Activest Wealth Management grew its stake in Oracle by 21.9% in the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 312 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Second Line Capital LLC grew its stake in Oracle by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Second Line Capital LLC now owns 3,816 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $650,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Cadence Bank grew its stake in Oracle by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Cadence Bank now owns 7,605 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,296,000 after buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Requisite Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Oracle by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Requisite Capital Management LLC now owns 2,240 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $373,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. grew its stake in Oracle by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. now owns 1,423 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $237,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In other Oracle news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,331,027.20. The trade was 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 the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada set a $145.00 price objective on shares of Oracle and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Oracle from $194.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Oracle from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $150.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a report on Tuesday. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $179.71.

Oracle Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ORCL opened at $147.41 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $412.30 billion, a PE ratio of 36.04, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. The company’s fifty day moving average is $166.14 and its 200 day moving average is $169.34. Oracle Co. has a 52 week low of $112.78 and a 52 week high of $198.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65.

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

Oracle Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.36%. Oracle’s 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.