Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Purchased by Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 9.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 2,589,264 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 227,212 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned about 0.09% of Oracle worth $430,646,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ORCL. Howard Capital Management Group LLC grew its holdings in Oracle by 12.4% during the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 8,019 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,366,000 after buying an additional 883 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Oracle by 5.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,416,362 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $411,748,000 after acquiring an additional 121,874 shares in the last quarter. United Bank boosted its stake in shares of Oracle by 4.8% during the third quarter. United Bank now owns 11,430 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,948,000 after acquiring an additional 519 shares during the last quarter. Principal Street Partners LLC increased its position in Oracle by 16.8% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Street Partners LLC now owns 1,908 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $325,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cadence Bank raised its stake in Oracle by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Cadence Bank now owns 7,605 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,296,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Stock Performance

Oracle stock opened at $147.71 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $164.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $170.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The company has a market capitalization of $413.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. Oracle Co. has a 12-month low of $112.78 and a 12-month high of $198.31.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.40 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. Oracle’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.41 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a positive change from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on ORCL shares. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Oracle from $194.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $150.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Oracle from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Oracle from $205.00 to $175.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Oracle currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $179.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at $207,331,027.20. This represents a 65.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.