Korea Investment CORP Boosts Stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Korea Investment CORP grew its stake in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 2.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,253,272 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 32,160 shares during the quarter. Oracle accounts for 0.5% of Korea Investment CORP’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. Korea Investment CORP’s holdings in Oracle were worth $208,845,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ORCL. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at $930,095,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Oracle by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 157,411,949 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $26,231,127,000 after buying an additional 2,296,069 shares during the last quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Oracle by 22.3% during the 4th quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC now owns 10,723,731 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,787,003,000 after acquiring an additional 1,955,764 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 11.6% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 18,480,384 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $3,370,640,000 after acquiring an additional 1,917,416 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its position 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 worth $12,003,241,000 after acquiring an additional 1,847,561 shares during the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Oracle news, CEO Safra Catz sold 345,174 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.56, for a total value of $64,050,487.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at $207,565,931.52. The trade was a 23.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 42.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on ORCL shares. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Oracle from $194.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Oracle from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. UBS Group restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $150.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Oracle from $205.00 to $175.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Oracle currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $179.20.

Oracle Price Performance

ORCL opened at $147.71 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $413.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.12, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a 50-day moving average of $164.62 and a 200-day moving average of $170.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. Oracle Co. has a 1-year low of $112.78 and a 1-year high of $198.31.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). The firm had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.40 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.41 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a positive change from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.35%. Oracle’s payout ratio is presently 46.95%.

About Oracle

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.