Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Buys 70,833 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,709,906 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after buying an additional 70,833 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $632,168,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ORCL. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Oracle in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Oracle in the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Oracle during the 2nd quarter valued at about $35,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Oracle in the 3rd quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in Oracle in the second quarter worth about $40,000. 42.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Oracle Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of ORCL opened at $189.13 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $168.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $145.03. The stock has a market cap of $524.09 billion, a PE ratio of 48.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68. Oracle Co. has a 52-week low of $99.26 and a 52-week high of $191.50.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its earnings results on Monday, September 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $13.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.23 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 20.40% and a return on equity of 171.38%. The business’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.95 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. Oracle’s payout ratio is currently 41.24%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ORCL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Oracle from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Royal Bank of Canada began coverage on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $165.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Oracle from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on Oracle from $105.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Melius upgraded shares of Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, September 16th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $168.52.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Oracle news, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total transaction of $1,042,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 42,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,076,685. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 42.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.