Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Purchased by Maryland State Retirement & Pension System

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lifted its stake in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 2.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 120,115 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,996 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Oracle were worth $12,664,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Oracle in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE raised its holdings in Oracle by 298.4% during the 3rd quarter. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE now owns 243 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 182 shares during the period. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Oracle during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 1,268.0% in the third quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 342 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 317 shares during the period. Finally, BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. increased its position in shares of Oracle by 139.4% in the fourth quarter. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. now owns 371 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Oracle news, CEO Safra Catz sold 790,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.54, for a total transaction of $99,966,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $141,546,631.68. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director George H. Conrades sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.00, for a total transaction of $2,320,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 17,836 shares in the company, valued at $2,068,976. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Safra Catz sold 790,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.54, for a total value of $99,966,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $141,546,631.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 835,000 shares of company stock worth $105,189,850. Company insiders own 42.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on ORCL. Argus raised shares of Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. KeyCorp assumed coverage on Oracle in a report on Thursday, March 21st. They set an “overweight” rating and a $150.00 price target on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Oracle from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. HSBC upped their target price on Oracle from $144.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, Oppenheimer assumed coverage on shares of Oracle in a report on Thursday, April 18th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $130.76.

Oracle Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of Oracle stock traded down $0.54 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $117.80. 3,432,225 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,209,896. Oracle Co. has a twelve month low of $96.10 and a twelve month high of $132.77. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $120.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $113.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $323.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.03.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its earnings results on Monday, March 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.04. Oracle had a net margin of 20.27% and a return on equity of 336.11%. The firm had revenue of $13.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.29 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.96 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 24th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.36%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is presently 42.22%.

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.