Meeder Asset Management Inc. Increases Stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 9.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 105,058 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after buying an additional 8,830 shares during the quarter. Oracle comprises about 1.2% of Meeder Asset Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Meeder Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $17,507,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ORCL. D L Carlson Investment Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,385,000. AIA Group Ltd grew its holdings in Oracle by 121.7% in the 4th quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 23,156 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $3,859,000 after buying an additional 12,709 shares in the last quarter. FSB Premier Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Oracle by 11.8% in the 4th quarter. FSB Premier Wealth Management Inc. now owns 20,003 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $3,333,000 after acquiring an additional 2,118 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 200.4% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 172,483 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $28,743,000 after acquiring an additional 115,059 shares during the period. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Oracle by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 282,892 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $47,141,000 after acquiring an additional 10,015 shares during the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Oracle Stock Performance

Shares of ORCL opened at $140.75 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $393.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. Oracle Co. has a 52-week low of $112.78 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. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $163.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $170.31.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its earnings results 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 net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The company had revenue of $14.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.40 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.41 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 dividend yield of 1.42%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is 46.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Oracle news, CEO Safra Catz sold 345,174 shares of the firm’s 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 approximately $207,565,931.52. This trade represents a 23.58 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on ORCL. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their target price on shares of Oracle from $214.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. StockNews.com cut Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Stephens started coverage on Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $167.00 target price on the stock. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $150.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Oracle in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.20.

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.