TIAA Trust National Association Boosts Stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

TIAA Trust National Association grew its holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 10.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 327,969 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after buying an additional 31,260 shares during the period. TIAA Trust National Association’s holdings in Oracle were worth $54,653,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ORCL. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Oracle in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 89.7% in the fourth quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 184 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. TFC Financial Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Oracle by 129.0% in the 4th quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 213 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. Finally, Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter valued at about $47,000. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on ORCL. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Oracle from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Oracle from $200.00 to $185.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $205.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $220.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on Oracle from $212.00 to $202.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $179.20.

Oracle Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE:ORCL opened at $154.98 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. The company has a market capitalization of $433.46 billion, a PE ratio of 37.89, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $164.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $170.36. Oracle Co. has a twelve month low of $112.78 and a twelve month high of $198.31.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 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 business had revenue of $14.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.40 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.41 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities 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 paid a $0.50 dividend. This is an increase from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.29%. Oracle’s payout ratio is presently 46.95%.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In other Oracle news, CEO Safra Catz sold 345,174 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at $207,565,931.52. The trade was a 23.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

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.