Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Acquired by Zevenbergen Capital Investments LLC

Zevenbergen Capital Investments LLC grew its holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 0.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 163,770 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the period. Zevenbergen Capital Investments LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $27,291,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Oracle by 89.7% in 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 last quarter. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Oracle during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. TFC Financial Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Oracle by 129.0% during the 4th quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 213 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Finally, Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $47,000. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Safra Catz sold 345,174 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.56, for a total transaction of $64,050,487.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at $207,565,931.52. This represents a 23.58 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Oracle Stock Performance

NYSE:ORCL opened at $152.83 on Monday. Oracle Co. has a 1-year low of $112.78 and a 1-year high of $198.31. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $164.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $170.27. The firm has a market cap of $427.45 billion, a PE ratio of 37.37, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

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

Oracle Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a positive change from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.31%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is 46.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $220.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. StockNews.com cut Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Oracle from $194.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Oracle to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock 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.