9,720 Shares in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Purchased by Franchise Capital Ltd

Franchise Capital Ltd bought a new stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 9,720 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,620,000. Oracle makes up about 0.8% of Franchise Capital Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp grew 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 valued at $12,003,241,000 after purchasing an additional 1,847,561 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Oracle by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,194,683 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $5,977,015,000 after buying an additional 885,041 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Oracle by 11.6% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 18,480,384 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $3,370,640,000 after buying an additional 1,917,416 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Oracle by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 17,898,029 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $3,049,824,000 after acquiring an additional 310,709 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 14,608,951 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $2,489,345,000 after acquiring an additional 54,868 shares during the period. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Oracle Stock Performance

Oracle stock opened at $166.03 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $178.93 and a 200-day moving average of $159.86. The stock has a market cap of $464.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.03. Oracle Co. has a 52 week low of $101.74 and a 52 week high of $198.31.

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

Oracle Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 9th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on ORCL shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Oracle from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Barclays upped their price objective on Oracle from $160.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Oracle from $173.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Oracle from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Oracle in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.