GAMMA Investing LLC Purchases 1,624 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 5.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 31,465 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,624 shares during the period. Oracle comprises 0.4% of GAMMA Investing LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $5,243,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,416,362 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $411,748,000 after buying an additional 121,874 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. raised its position in Oracle by 15.3% in the second quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 24,800 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $3,502,000 after acquiring an additional 3,300 shares during the period. Chase Investment Counsel Corp purchased a new position in Oracle in the third quarter valued at about $4,160,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Oracle by 79.6% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 286,460 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $48,813,000 after acquiring an additional 126,985 shares during the period. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC increased its stake in shares of Oracle by 84.5% during the 3rd quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 863,883 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $147,206,000 after purchasing an additional 395,613 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ORCL opened at $166.03 on Friday. Oracle Co. has a one year low of $101.74 and a one year high of $198.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $464.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.59, a PEG ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.03. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $178.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $159.86.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $14.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.12 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.34 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 9th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.96%. Oracle’s payout ratio is 39.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ORCL has been the subject of several research reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Oracle from $173.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on Oracle from $201.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Oracle from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Melius upgraded shares of Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Oracle from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Oracle has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.48.

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.