Polar Capital Holdings Plc Has $126.53 Million Position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Polar Capital Holdings Plc boosted its position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 57.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 759,307 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after buying an additional 276,062 shares during the quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc’s holdings in Oracle were worth $126,531,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Oracle by 201.7% in the fourth quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,599 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $266,000 after purchasing an additional 1,069 shares in the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Oracle by 24.8% during the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 164,593 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $27,428,000 after purchasing an additional 32,718 shares during the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter worth about $1,800,000. Boston Trust Walden Corp grew its stake in Oracle by 40.8% in the 4th quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 564,030 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $93,990,000 after buying an additional 163,543 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avanza Fonder AB bought a new position in Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at about $20,346,000. Institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on ORCL shares. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Oracle from $220.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 31st. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Oracle from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on Oracle from $212.00 to $202.00 and set an “overweight” 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Oracle presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $174.42.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In related news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 17,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.24, for a total value of $2,646,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 58,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,785,531.60. This represents a 23.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,866 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.53, for a total value of $428,552.98. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 31,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,749,670.92. The trade was a 8.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 27,366 shares of company stock worth $4,015,723 over the last three months. Company insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:ORCL opened at $162.44 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $454.34 billion, a PE ratio of 39.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.27. Oracle Co. has a 1 year low of $114.55 and a 1 year high of $198.31. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $142.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $162.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.02). Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The firm had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.41 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. This is a boost from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.95%.

Oracle Company 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.