Sender Co & Partners Inc. Makes New $1.42 Million Investment in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Sender Co & Partners Inc. purchased a new position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 8,501 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,417,000. Oracle accounts for about 1.3% of Sender Co & Partners Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Oracle by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 157,411,949 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $26,231,127,000 after purchasing an additional 2,296,069 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Oracle by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 38,002,902 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $6,332,803,000 after acquiring an additional 156,269 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Oracle by 1.8% during 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 during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Oracle by 9.3% during 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Oracle by 12.5% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 19,620,534 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $3,269,566,000 after acquiring an additional 2,176,892 shares during the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.81, for a total transaction of $291,620.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 34,630 shares in the company, valued at $5,049,400.30. This represents a 5.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.24, for a total transaction of $2,646,700.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 58,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,785,531.60. The trade was a 23.15% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 27,366 shares of company stock worth $4,015,723 over the last 90 days. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Oracle Price Performance

Shares of ORCL opened at $160.31 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $448.39 billion, a PE ratio of 39.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.27. 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 fifty-two week low of $114.55 and a fifty-two week high of $198.31. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $142.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $162.57.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.40 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. Oracle’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.41 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. This is a boost from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is 46.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ORCL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Oracle from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Royal Bank of Canada set a $145.00 price objective on shares of Oracle and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. DA Davidson lowered their price objective on shares of Oracle from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Oracle from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Oracle from $205.00 to $175.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $174.42.

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.