Bridgewater Associates LP Buys Shares of 88,484 Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Bridgewater Associates LP purchased a new position in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 88,484 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock, valued at approximately $14,745,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ORCL. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC grew 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 purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Oracle during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Oracle during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, TFC Financial Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Oracle by 129.0% in the fourth quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 213 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In related news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.81, for a total value of $291,620.00. Following the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.77, for a total value of $648,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 58,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,538,339.30. This trade represents a 7.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 2,453,328 shares of company stock valued at $454,439,851 in the last 90 days. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup decreased their target price on Oracle from $194.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Oracle from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Royal Bank of Canada set a $145.00 price target on shares of Oracle and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their price objective on Oracle from $214.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Oracle presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $177.12.

Oracle Price Performance

Oracle stock opened at $133.83 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. Oracle Co. has a one year low of $112.78 and a one year high of $198.31. The business has a fifty day moving average of $153.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $167.15. The company has a market cap of $374.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.22.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.02). The company 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 was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.41 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.49%. This is a boost from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.95%.

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.