Metis Global Partners LLC Increases Position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Metis Global Partners LLC raised its holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 15.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 89,412 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,986 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $9,427,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Channing Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Oracle by 54.9% in the fourth quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC now owns 77,800 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $8,202,000 after purchasing an additional 27,580 shares during the last quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp purchased a new stake in Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at $330,000. NavPoint Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle in the 4th quarter worth $237,000. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 155.6% during the 4th quarter. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,679 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,231,000 after acquiring an additional 7,110 shares during the period. Finally, Avidian Wealth Solutions LLC boosted its position in shares of Oracle by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Avidian Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 8,516 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $898,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on ORCL. HSBC raised their price objective on shares of Oracle from $144.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. KeyCorp started coverage on shares of Oracle in a report on Thursday, March 21st. They set an “overweight” rating and a $150.00 price target for the company. Oppenheimer started coverage on Oracle in a report on Thursday, April 18th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Oracle from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, William Blair upgraded Oracle from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 12th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $130.76.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director George H. Conrades sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.13, for a total value of $2,903,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,836 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,071,294.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Oracle news, CEO Safra Catz sold 790,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.54, for a total transaction of $99,966,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $141,546,631.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director George H. Conrades sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.13, for a total value of $2,903,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 17,836 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,071,294.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 42.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Oracle Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of ORCL traded up $0.84 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $115.80. The company had a trading volume of 4,484,976 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,128,065. Oracle Co. has a 1 year low of $94.41 and a 1 year high of $132.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $318.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.34, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $119.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $113.38.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.04. Oracle had a net margin of 20.27% and a return on equity of 336.11%. The company had revenue of $13.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.29 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.96 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 24th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 9th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is presently 42.22%.

About Oracle

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.