Generali Asset Management SPA SGR Invests $12.60 Million in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR bought a new position in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 75,582 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock, valued at approximately $12,595,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ORCL. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Oracle by 89.7% during the fourth quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 184 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the period. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Oracle during the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. TFC Financial Management Inc. raised its position in Oracle by 129.0% during the fourth quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 213 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the period. Finally, Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Oracle during the fourth quarter valued at $47,000. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.35, for a total value of $389,448,893.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,331,027.20. This represents a 65.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on ORCL. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Oracle from $205.00 to $175.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Oracle from $200.00 to $185.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $150.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Royal Bank of Canada set a $145.00 target price on Oracle and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Oracle from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $179.71.

Oracle Price Performance

Oracle stock opened at $154.01 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $430.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.66, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. Oracle Co. has a 12 month low of $112.78 and a 12 month high of $198.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $165.57 and its 200-day moving average is $169.95.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.40 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.41 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This is a boost from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.30%. Oracle’s dividend 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.