Harbour Investments Inc. Boosts Stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Harbour Investments Inc. raised its position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 3.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 19,561 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 624 shares during the period. Harbour Investments Inc.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $3,260,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ORCL. Howard Capital Management Group LLC grew its position in shares of Oracle by 12.4% during the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 8,019 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,366,000 after acquiring an additional 883 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 period. United Bank boosted its holdings in Oracle by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 11,430 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,948,000 after buying an additional 519 shares during the period. Accredited Investors Inc. boosted its holdings in Oracle by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 10,575 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,802,000 after buying an additional 398 shares during the period. Finally, Schear Investment Advisers LLC bought a new position in Oracle in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,265,000. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at $207,331,027.20. The trade was a 65.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Stock Performance

Oracle stock opened at $149.36 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. The company has a market capitalization of $417.76 billion, a PE ratio of 36.52, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $165.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $169.85. Oracle Co. has a twelve month low of $112.78 and a twelve month high of $198.31.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.40 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The business’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.41 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 1.34%. This is an increase from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is 46.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on ORCL. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised shares of Oracle from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Oracle from $194.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Oracle from $205.00 to $175.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Oracle from $212.00 to $202.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Oracle from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Oracle has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $179.71.

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.