Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Acquired by Saratoga Research & Investment Management

Saratoga Research & Investment Management lifted its stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 6.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 842,086 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 47,673 shares during the quarter. Oracle accounts for 5.4% of Saratoga Research & Investment Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. Saratoga Research & Investment Management’s holdings in Oracle were worth $118,903,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brio Consultants LLC grew its stake in shares of Oracle by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Brio Consultants LLC now owns 2,942 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $310,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Precision Wealth Strategies LLC grew its stake in Oracle by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Precision Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 3,951 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $417,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. purchased a new stake in Oracle during the 4th quarter worth about $359,000. Aveo Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Oracle during the 4th quarter worth approximately $290,000. Finally, 9258 Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 90,285 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $9,519,000 after purchasing an additional 560 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In other news, Chairman Lawrence Joseph Ellison sold 1,125,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.69, for a total value of $161,651,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,145,732,353 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $164,630,281,802.57. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Oracle news, Chairman Lawrence Joseph Ellison sold 1,125,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.69, for a total value of $161,651,250.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 1,145,732,353 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $164,630,281,802.57. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total transaction of $1,042,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 42,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,076,685. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,573,181 shares of company stock valued at $225,338,245 over the last quarter. Insiders own 42.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ORCL. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Oracle from $150.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Guggenheim raised their price objective on Oracle from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on Oracle from $159.00 to $171.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Oracle from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Oracle from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Oracle presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $166.13.

Oracle Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ORCL opened at $168.74 on Monday. Oracle Co. has a 12 month low of $99.26 and a 12 month high of $173.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $467.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 1.01. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $144.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $133.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its earnings results on Monday, September 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.06. Oracle had a net margin of 20.40% and a return on equity of 171.38%. The firm had revenue of $13.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.23 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.95 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.13%.

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.