Treasurer of the State of North Carolina Buys 5,209 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 839,065 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,209 shares during the period. Oracle makes up 0.5% of Treasurer of the State of North Carolina’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina’s holdings in Oracle were worth $139,822,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Oracle by 5.3% in the third 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. increased its holdings in shares of Oracle by 201.7% during the fourth quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,599 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $266,000 after buying an additional 1,069 shares in the last quarter. RMR Wealth Builders increased its holdings in shares of Oracle by 383.4% during the fourth quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 7,155 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,192,000 after buying an additional 5,675 shares in the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Oracle by 24.8% during the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 164,593 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $27,428,000 after buying an additional 32,718 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,800,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Stock Performance

Shares of ORCL stock opened at $139.91 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $391.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.21, 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 company has a 50-day simple moving average of $156.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $168.09. Oracle Co. has a 52 week low of $112.78 and a 52 week high of $198.31.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $14.13 billion during 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 revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.41 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.43%. This is an increase from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle’s payout ratio is currently 46.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In other news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,331,027.20. This represents a 65.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction of $291,620.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 34,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,049,400.30. This trade represents a 5.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 2,448,328 shares of company stock valued at $453,791,001 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on ORCL shares. Westpark Capital started coverage on shares of Oracle in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $195.00 price objective for the company. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Oracle from $212.00 to $202.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Oracle from $205.00 to $175.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price target on shares of Oracle from $214.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Oracle from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Oracle currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $178.65.

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.