Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC Acquires 15,020 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC raised its holdings in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 133.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 26,252 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,020 shares during the quarter. Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $4,375,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Oracle by 16,023.4% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,065,083 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $351,890,000 after acquiring an additional 2,052,275 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Oracle by 11.6% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 18,480,384 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $3,370,640,000 after purchasing an additional 1,917,416 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Oracle by 2.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 70,441,556 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $12,003,241,000 after purchasing an additional 1,847,561 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 885,041 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its stake in 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 valued at $155,694,000 after purchasing an additional 883,233 shares during the period. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Oracle Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ORCL opened at $183.59 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $513.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 1.06. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $174.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $162.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. Oracle Co. has a 1-year low of $106.51 and a 1-year high of $198.31.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $14.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.12 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The company’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.34 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.12%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 transaction of $389,448,893.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,331,027.20. The trade was a 65.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ORCL has been the topic of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Oracle from $173.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Oracle to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of Oracle from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Oracle from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $182.73.

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.