China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. Buys 8,784 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 36.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 32,732 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,784 shares during the period. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $5,454,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its position in shares of Oracle by 20.6% during the third quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 18,513 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $3,155,000 after buying an additional 3,167 shares during the period. Czech National Bank boosted its holdings in Oracle by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 325,610 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $55,484,000 after acquiring an additional 21,832 shares during the period. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. grew its position in Oracle by 10.7% in the 3rd quarter. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. now owns 73,812 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $12,578,000 after acquiring an additional 7,159 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Oracle by 2.1% during the third quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 23,743 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $4,046,000 after purchasing an additional 495 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Market Strategies LLC boosted its stake in shares of Oracle by 4.2% during the third quarter. Capital Market Strategies LLC now owns 2,991 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $510,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:ORCL opened at $169.91 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $171.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $163.26. The stock has a market cap of $475.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.54, a PEG ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 1.06. Oracle Co. has a 52-week low of $106.51 and a 52-week high of $198.31. 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 (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its earnings results on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $14.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.12 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.34 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.12%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on ORCL shares. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Oracle from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. KeyCorp raised their price target on Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $165.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Oracle from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $182.73.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 42.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.