Gamco Investors INC. ET AL Grows Position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL increased its holdings in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 131.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 46,815 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 26,565 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL’s holdings in Oracle were worth $7,801,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ORCL. Gabelli Funds LLC grew its stake in Oracle by 1,633.3% during the 4th quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 106,149 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $17,689,000 after purchasing an additional 100,025 shares during the last quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP acquired a new position in Oracle in the 4th quarter worth approximately $14,745,000. Kane Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Oracle during the 4th quarter worth approximately $749,000. AGP Franklin LLC acquired a new stake in Oracle during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $7,403,000. Finally, Portolan Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 97.9% in the 4th quarter. Portolan Capital Management LLC now owns 77,215 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $12,867,000 after acquiring an additional 38,193 shares during the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Oracle Stock Down 3.2 %

ORCL stock opened at $129.67 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $362.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.70, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.22. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $152.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $166.90. Oracle Co. has a 12 month low of $112.78 and a 12 month high of $198.31. 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 (NYSE:ORCL) last issued 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). Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The company had revenue of $14.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.40 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.41 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.54%. Oracle’s payout ratio is 46.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 345,174 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.56, for a total value of $64,050,487.44. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,565,931.52. The trade was a 23.58 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.77, for a total transaction of $648,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 58,090 shares in the company, valued at $7,538,339.30. The trade was a 7.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 2,453,328 shares of company stock worth $454,439,851 in the last ninety days. 42.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $220.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. StockNews.com lowered Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. DA Davidson lowered their price objective on Oracle from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Oracle from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Oracle from $200.00 to $185.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Oracle currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $176.73.

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.