Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) is Mar Vista Investment Partners LLC’s 9th Largest Position

Mar Vista Investment Partners LLC decreased its stake in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 3.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 319,992 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 11,063 shares during the period. Oracle makes up 3.7% of Mar Vista Investment Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Mar Vista Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $53,323,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Oracle by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 157,411,949 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $26,231,127,000 after acquiring an additional 2,296,069 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Oracle by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 38,002,902 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $6,332,803,000 after purchasing an additional 156,269 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,814,302 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $5,954,961,000 after purchasing an additional 619,619 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Oracle by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 20,202,421 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $3,366,531,000 after purchasing an additional 1,722,037 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Oracle by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 17,995,664 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $2,998,798,000 after buying an additional 97,635 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Price Performance

NYSE ORCL opened at $127.20 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $355.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.10, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.22. Oracle Co. has a 12 month low of $112.78 and a 12 month high of $198.31. The company’s 50 day moving average is $148.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $165.72. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.02). Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The firm had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.41 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.57%. Oracle’s payout ratio is currently 46.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on ORCL shares. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Oracle from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Oracle from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Westpark Capital initiated coverage on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $195.00 price target for the company. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $176.73.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 345,174 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,565,931.52. This represents a 23.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.77, for a total value of $648,850.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 58,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,538,339.30. This represents a 7.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 352,174 shares of company stock worth $64,990,957 in the last three months. 42.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Oracle 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.