Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. boosted its stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 3.4% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 41,745 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,377 shares during the quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $5,894,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of ORCL. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew 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 acquiring an additional 7,699,141 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its position in 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 purchasing an additional 3,323,334 shares in the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. grew its position in 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 purchasing an additional 2,219,450 shares in the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC increased its stake in Oracle by 17.7% in the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 14,599,902 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,539,268,000 after buying an additional 2,191,342 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Oracle by 97.4% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,242,647 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $532,920,000 after buying an additional 2,093,893 shares in the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Edward Screven sold 426,861 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.91, for a total value of $60,575,844.51. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 2,626,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $372,764,079.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Oracle news, insider Edward Screven sold 426,861 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.91, for a total transaction of $60,575,844.51. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,626,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $372,764,079.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total transaction of $1,042,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 42,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,076,685. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 1,610,402 shares of company stock worth $230,556,257. Insiders own 42.80% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Price Performance

ORCL stock opened at $165.93 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $142.76 and a 200-day moving average of $132.46. 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 12 month low of $99.26 and a 12 month high of $173.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $457.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.01.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, September 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $13.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.23 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 171.38% and a net margin of 20.40%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.95 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. Oracle’s payout ratio is 43.13%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on ORCL shares. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on Oracle from $159.00 to $171.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Oracle from $140.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of Oracle from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Argus raised their price objective on shares of Oracle from $145.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Oracle from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Oracle has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $166.13.

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.