Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Has $241.25 Million Position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. decreased its holdings in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 6.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,447,716 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 93,900 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned about 0.05% of Oracle worth $241,247,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Oracle in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake 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 in the last quarter. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, TFC Financial Management Inc. raised 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 buying an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Stock Up 3.6 %

Oracle stock opened at $127.20 on Wednesday. The firm 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 52-week low of $112.78 and a 52-week high of $198.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $148.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $165.72.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The business had revenue of $14.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.40 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.41 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.57%. This is a positive change from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In other Oracle news, CEO Safra Catz sold 345,174 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.56, for a total transaction of $64,050,487.44. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $207,565,931.52. The trade was a 23.58 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.81, for a total value of $291,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 34,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,049,400.30. This represents a 5.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 352,174 shares of company stock valued at $64,990,957. Company insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded shares of Oracle from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. UBS Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Oracle in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Oracle from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $220.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Oracle from $220.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 31st. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Oracle has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $176.73.

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.