UniSuper Management Pty Ltd Grows Holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

UniSuper Management Pty Ltd boosted its stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 19.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 521,310 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 85,246 shares during the quarter. Oracle comprises 0.6% of UniSuper Management Pty Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd’s holdings in Oracle were worth $86,871,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ORCL. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Oracle during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Oracle by 89.7% during the fourth quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 184 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. TFC Financial Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Oracle by 129.0% in the fourth quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 213 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Oracle during the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Stock Down 4.0 %

ORCL stock opened at $147.71 on Thursday. 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 company’s 50-day moving average price is $164.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $170.28. Oracle Co. has a 52 week low of $112.78 and a 52 week high of $198.31. The company has a market cap of $413.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.12, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $14.13 billion during 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 business’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.41 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This is an increase from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle’s payout ratio is 46.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Oracle news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.35, for a total transaction of $389,448,893.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,331,027.20. The trade was a 65.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on ORCL. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $150.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. UBS Group restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. StockNews.com cut shares of Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $220.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $179.20.

Oracle Company 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.