Twin Capital Management Inc. Buys 11,444 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Twin Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 55.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 32,232 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,444 shares during the period. Twin Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $5,371,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Oracle by 89.7% in 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. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, TFC Financial Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Oracle by 129.0% in the 4th quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 213 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In other news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.81, for a total value of $291,620.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 34,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,049,400.30. This represents a 5.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of Oracle 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,331,027.20. This trade represents a 65.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 2,448,328 shares of company stock valued at $453,791,001. Insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ORCL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Oracle from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Oracle from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Stephens initiated coverage on shares of Oracle in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $167.00 target price for the company. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.65.

Oracle Stock Down 6.6 %

Shares of ORCL stock opened at $128.17 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $358.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.34, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.22. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $160.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $169.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. Oracle Co. has a 52 week low of $112.78 and a 52 week high of $198.31.

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

Oracle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.56%. This is a boost from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.95%.

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.