Mediolanum International Funds Ltd Acquires 117,366 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 104.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 229,948 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 117,366 shares during the period. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd’s holdings in Oracle were worth $38,286,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Oracle by 21.3% in the 4th quarter. Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,007 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $501,000 after acquiring an additional 527 shares during the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at $1,800,000. Lewis Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Oracle by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Lewis Asset Management LLC now owns 7,631 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,272,000 after acquiring an additional 425 shares during the last quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN lifted its stake in shares of Oracle by 13.4% in the 4th quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 29,212 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $4,868,000 after acquiring an additional 3,450 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Busey Bank raised its position in Oracle by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Busey Bank now owns 217,003 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $36,161,000 after purchasing an additional 3,441 shares during the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Oracle Stock Up 5.2 %

Shares of NYSE:ORCL opened at $170.41 on Friday. Oracle Co. has a 52-week low of $106.51 and a 52-week high of $198.31. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $172.79 and a 200 day moving average of $163.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $476.62 billion, a PE ratio of 41.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its earnings results on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.48 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $14.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.12 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.34 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.12%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.35, for a total transaction of $389,448,893.90. 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 $207,331,027.20. This represents a 65.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. KeyCorp raised their target price on Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $165.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Oracle from $173.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Oracle from $157.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised shares of Oracle to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $182.73.

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.