Todd Asset Management LLC Purchases 68,564 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Todd Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 28.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 309,790 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 68,564 shares during the period. Todd Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $32,661,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ORCL. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Oracle by 9,299.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,170,999 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $865,472,000 after buying an additional 8,084,067 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 147,273,413 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $15,599,200,000 after buying an additional 7,883,515 shares during the last quarter. DNB Asset Management AS grew its position in shares of Oracle by 313.4% in the 4th quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 1,766,621 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $186,255,000 after acquiring an additional 1,339,311 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Oracle by 26,602.4% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,259,550 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $132,794,000 after purchasing an additional 1,254,833 shares during the period. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Oracle by 35.2% in the third quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 3,168,969 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $331,221,000 after purchasing an additional 825,030 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In other Oracle news, Director George H. Conrades sold 25,000 shares of the company’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 transaction, the director now owns 17,836 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,071,294.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director George H. Conrades sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.13, for a total transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Safra Catz sold 790,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $141,546,631.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 42.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Oracle from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. KeyCorp initiated coverage on Oracle in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $150.00 target price for the company. Oppenheimer started coverage on Oracle in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. HSBC upped their price objective on shares of Oracle from $144.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Oracle from $126.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 12th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $130.76.

Oracle Price Performance

Shares of ORCL traded up $0.84 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $115.80. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,484,976 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,128,065. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.34. 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 firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $119.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $113.32.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its earnings results on Monday, March 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $13.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.29 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 20.27% and a return on equity of 336.11%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.96 EPS. Analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 24th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.38%. 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.