BankPlus Trust Department Buys New Stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

BankPlus Trust Department bought a new stake in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 3,759 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock, valued at approximately $626,000.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Oracle by 11.6% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 18,480,384 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $3,370,640,000 after purchasing an additional 1,917,416 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Oracle by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 70,441,556 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $12,003,241,000 after acquiring an additional 1,847,561 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in shares of Oracle by 279.7% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,210,745 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $201,759,000 after acquiring an additional 891,842 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Oracle by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,194,683 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $5,977,015,000 after acquiring an additional 885,041 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its holdings in shares of Oracle by 2,899.0% in the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 913,700 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $155,694,000 after acquiring an additional 883,233 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Stock Performance

NYSE:ORCL opened at $167.92 on Monday. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $168.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $167.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $469.66 billion, a PE ratio of 41.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.05. Oracle Co. has a 12-month low of $109.66 and a 12-month high of $198.31.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by ($0.01). Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The company had revenue of $14.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.34 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.95%. Oracle’s payout ratio is 39.12%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on ORCL shares. Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered Oracle from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $130.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Friday, December 20th. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Oracle from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut shares of Oracle to an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $165.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised shares of Oracle to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Oracle presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $182.73.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.35, for a total value of $389,448,893.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $207,331,027.20. The trade was a 65.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

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.