Channing Capital Management LLC Acquires 27,580 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Channing Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 54.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 77,800 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 27,580 shares during the quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $8,202,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Brown Advisory Inc. increased its position in shares of Oracle by 3.4% during the third quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 218,905 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $23,186,000 after purchasing an additional 7,272 shares during the period. Everhart Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Oracle by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,067 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $749,000 after buying an additional 472 shares during the period. Hixon Zuercher LLC raised its stake in shares of Oracle by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Hixon Zuercher LLC now owns 22,965 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $2,432,000 after buying an additional 677 shares in the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 13.3% during the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 30,682 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $3,250,000 after acquiring an additional 3,608 shares during the period. Finally, BluePath Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Oracle in the third quarter valued at about $45,000. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Oracle Trading Up 0.7 %

NYSE ORCL traded up $0.84 on Friday, reaching $115.80. The company had a trading volume of 4,484,976 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,128,065. Oracle Co. has a 52 week low of $94.41 and a 52 week high of $132.77. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $119.91 and its 200-day moving average is $113.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.34. The stock has a market cap of $318.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.55, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.03.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.04. Oracle had a net margin of 20.27% and a return on equity of 336.11%. The business had revenue of $13.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.29 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.96 EPS. Oracle’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 24th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 9th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.22%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Oracle news, CEO Safra Catz sold 790,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.54, for a total value of $99,966,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at $141,546,631.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Safra Catz sold 790,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.54, for a total value of $99,966,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at $141,546,631.68. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director George H. Conrades sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.13, for a total transaction of $2,903,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 17,836 shares in the company, valued at $2,071,294.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 42.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on ORCL. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Oracle from $126.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 12th. Oppenheimer began coverage on Oracle in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. KeyCorp began coverage on Oracle in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. They set an “overweight” rating and a $150.00 price objective for the company. Argus raised shares of Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $130.76.

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.