Blueprint Investment Partners LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Blueprint Investment Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 84.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,639 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,404 shares during the period. Blueprint Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $1,606,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ORCL. Mosley Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Oracle by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Mosley Wealth Management now owns 7,154 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,159,000 after buying an additional 514 shares in the last quarter. Guardian Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in Oracle in the 4th quarter worth $6,875,000. Fortis Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Oracle during the fourth quarter worth $667,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in Oracle during the fourth quarter valued at $93,772,000. Finally, Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Oracle by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 31,425 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $5,237,000 after purchasing an additional 3,683 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.35, for a total value of $389,448,893.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,331,027.20. This represents a 65.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Oracle from $205.00 to $175.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Stephens started coverage on Oracle in a research report on Wednesday. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $167.00 price target for the company. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Oracle from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Oracle currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.20.

Oracle Price Performance

ORCL stock opened at $152.83 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $164.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $170.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. The stock has a market cap of $427.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.37, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. Oracle Co. has a fifty-two week low of $112.78 and a fifty-two week high of $198.31.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.40 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.41 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This is an increase from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.95%.

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.