Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Buys Shares of 1,296,491 Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm purchased 1,296,491 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock, valued at approximately $216,047,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital & Planning LLC lifted its stake in Oracle by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Capital & Planning LLC now owns 15,727 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $2,621,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 189.3% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 153,580 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $25,593,000 after purchasing an additional 100,494 shares during the last quarter. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 10.4% during the fourth quarter. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,838 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,139,000 after purchasing an additional 646 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in Oracle by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 21,352 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $3,558,000 after purchasing an additional 765 shares during the period. Finally, Grimes & Company Inc. boosted its holdings in Oracle by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. now owns 12,204 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $2,034,000 after purchasing an additional 247 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In other Oracle news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 17,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.24, for a total transaction of $2,646,700.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 58,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,785,531.60. The trade was a 23.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,866 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.53, for a total value of $428,552.98. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 31,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,749,670.92. The trade was a 8.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 27,366 shares of company stock worth $4,015,723 in the last three months. Insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ORCL opened at $156.04 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $436.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.15, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.27. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $143.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $161.83. 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 Co. has a fifty-two week low of $114.55 and a fifty-two week high of $198.31.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $14.13 billion during 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%. Oracle’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.41 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. This is a positive change from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.28%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.95%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ORCL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Oracle from $194.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Westpark Capital assumed coverage on Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $195.00 price objective for the company. Barclays dropped their target price on Oracle from $212.00 to $202.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Oracle from $210.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded shares of Oracle from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $174.42.

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.