5,581,469 Shares in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Bought by Raymond James Financial Inc.

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 5,581,469 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock, valued at approximately $930,095,000.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Oracle by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,416,362 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $411,748,000 after purchasing an additional 121,874 shares in the last quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Oracle by 201.7% in the 4th quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,599 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $266,000 after purchasing an additional 1,069 shares in the last quarter. RMR Wealth Builders lifted its stake in Oracle by 383.4% in the 4th quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 7,155 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,192,000 after purchasing an additional 5,675 shares in the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Oracle by 24.8% in the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 164,593 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $27,428,000 after purchasing an additional 32,718 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Oracle in the 4th quarter worth $1,800,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Price Performance

Shares of ORCL stock opened at $161.75 on Thursday. 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 $452.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.55, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $168.31 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $169.10. Oracle Co. has a one year low of $110.67 and a one year high of $198.31.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released 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). Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The business had revenue of $14.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.34 earnings per share. Oracle’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.99%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.12%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,331,027.20. This trade represents a 65.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ORCL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Oracle to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Oracle from $157.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Oracle from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded shares of Oracle from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Oracle from $173.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $182.73.

Oracle 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.