Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Holdings Boosted by Sawgrass Asset Management LLC

Sawgrass Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 13.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 134,596 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,456 shares during the period. Oracle makes up 2.4% of Sawgrass Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $22,935,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Capital World Investors lifted its position in Oracle by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 18,466,713 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $2,319,604,000 after buying an additional 82,551 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 2.3% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 13,242,340 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,869,816,000 after acquiring an additional 296,866 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in Oracle by 148.8% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 12,872,300 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,616,855,000 after purchasing an additional 7,699,141 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Oracle by 6.2% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,318,962 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,033,430,000 after purchasing an additional 424,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in Oracle by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,182,917 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,015,862,000 after purchasing an additional 66,444 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Oracle news, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total transaction of $1,042,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 42,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,076,685. This represents a 12.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 42.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Oracle Stock Down 1.8 %

ORCL opened at $183.74 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $509.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.36, a P/E/G ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.02. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $172.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $146.83. Oracle Co. has a fifty-two week low of $99.26 and a fifty-two week high of $191.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, September 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.06. Oracle had a return on equity of 171.38% and a net margin of 20.40%. The firm had revenue of $13.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.95 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. Oracle’s payout ratio is currently 41.24%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ORCL. Bank of America lifted their price target on Oracle from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Melius raised shares of Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Oracle from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Oracle from $160.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of Oracle from $105.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Oracle currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $169.52.

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.