Mackenzie Financial Corp Purchases 333,755 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 13.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,883,060 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 333,755 shares during the quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp’s holdings in Oracle were worth $480,433,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Capital & Planning LLC boosted its position in shares of Oracle by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Capital & Planning LLC now owns 15,727 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $2,621,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. Red Door Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Oracle by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Red Door Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,341 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $890,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the period. Seros Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter worth $249,000. Verde Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter worth $255,000. Finally, Secure Asset Management LLC increased its position in Oracle by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 10,870 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,811,000 after purchasing an additional 434 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ORCL. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Oracle from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Oracle from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised shares of Oracle from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective 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. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $174.42.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,866 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.53, for a total transaction of $428,552.98. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 31,764 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,749,670.92. This trade represents a 8.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.77, for a total transaction of $648,850.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 58,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 27,366 shares of company stock worth $4,015,723. Insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Stock Down 0.8%

ORCL stock opened at $156.04 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $436.44 billion, a PE ratio of 38.15, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.27. 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 firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $143.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $162.13. Oracle Co. has a 12 month low of $114.55 and a 12 month 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 for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.02). Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The business had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.40 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.41 EPS. Oracle’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.28%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. This is a positive change from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.