Federated Hermes Inc. Grows Stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 412.8% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 257,573 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 207,340 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $36,369,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ORCL. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Oracle in the 4th quarter worth $1,210,181,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in shares of Oracle by 148.8% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 12,872,300 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,616,855,000 after buying an additional 7,699,141 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in shares of Oracle by 22.1% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 18,384,162 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,938,242,000 after buying an additional 3,323,334 shares during the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Oracle by 131.2% in the 2nd quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,911,201 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $552,262,000 after buying an additional 2,219,450 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parnassus Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Oracle by 17.7% in the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 14,599,902 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,539,268,000 after buying an additional 2,191,342 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 research firms recently weighed in on ORCL. Mizuho lifted their target price on Oracle from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Oracle from $140.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Oracle from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Oracle from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Oracle from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Oracle has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $161.13.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Jeffrey Berg sold 22,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.12, for a total transaction of $3,220,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 210,712 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,157,101.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director Jeffrey Berg sold 22,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.12, for a total transaction of $3,220,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 210,712 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,157,101.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.89, for a total transaction of $2,068,350.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 58,090 shares in the company, valued at $8,010,030.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,862,500 shares of company stock valued at $266,776,624. 42.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Oracle Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of ORCL stock opened at $162.03 on Friday. Oracle Co. has a 12-month low of $99.26 and a 12-month high of $173.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $139.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $130.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $446.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.01.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued 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 return on equity of 171.38% and a net margin of 20.40%. The firm had revenue of $13.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.95 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.13%.

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.