Weaver Capital Management LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Weaver Capital Management LLC raised its position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 28,063 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,790 shares during the period. Oracle accounts for about 1.4% of Weaver Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Weaver Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $4,782,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ORCL. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Oracle by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 151,213,890 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $18,993,977,000 after acquiring an additional 1,514,569 shares during the period. Capital World Investors grew its stake in shares of Oracle by 0.4% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 18,466,713 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $2,319,604,000 after buying an additional 82,551 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake 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 buying an additional 296,866 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in Oracle by 148.8% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 12,872,300 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,616,855,000 after acquiring an additional 7,699,141 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Oracle by 6.2% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,318,962 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,033,430,000 after purchasing an additional 424,500 shares during the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ORCL. Bank of America raised their target price on Oracle from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. UBS Group reissued a “market outperform” rating on shares of Oracle in a research report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Oracle from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Mizuho increased their price objective on Oracle from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Oracle from $140.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $168.52.

Oracle Trading Up 0.9 %

Oracle stock opened at $175.33 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $485.85 billion, a PE ratio of 45.19, a P/E/G ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick 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 $178.61. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $157.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $139.38.

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

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.91%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.24%.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In other Oracle news, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total value of $1,042,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 42,889 shares in the company, valued at $7,076,685. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Company 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.