Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co Grows Position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co lifted its position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 39.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 266,087 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 75,000 shares during the period. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in Oracle were worth $44,341,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ORCL. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Oracle by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 157,411,949 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $26,231,127,000 after buying an additional 2,296,069 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Oracle by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,814,302 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $5,954,961,000 after acquiring an additional 619,619 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Oracle by 9.3% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 20,202,421 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $3,366,531,000 after acquiring an additional 1,722,037 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in Oracle by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 17,995,664 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $2,998,798,000 after purchasing an additional 97,635 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Oracle in the 4th quarter worth $2,216,314,000. 42.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ORCL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Oracle to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Oracle from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Royal Bank of Canada set a $145.00 target price on Oracle and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Oracle from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Oracle from $212.00 to $202.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Oracle presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.65.

Oracle Trading Down 6.6 %

Shares of NYSE:ORCL opened at $128.17 on Friday. Oracle Co. has a 52-week low of $112.78 and a 52-week high of $198.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $358.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.34, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $160.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $169.33.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced 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). The business had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.40 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.41 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This is an increase from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.56%. Oracle’s payout ratio is 46.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In related news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.81, for a total value of $291,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 34,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,049,400.30. This represents a 5.46 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.35, for a total value of $389,448,893.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,331,027.20. This represents a 65.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 2,448,328 shares of company stock valued at $453,791,001. Company 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.