Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI Increases Stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI has increased its investment in Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 6.9% during the fourth quarter, as detailed in its latest 13F filing with the SEC. The firm now holds a total of 130,061 shares of Oracle's stock, which follows the purchase of an additional 8,360 shares over the quarter. Oracle represents 1.2% of Parsons Capital Management's portfolio, making it the firm’s 14th largest investment. As of the end of the last quarter, the value of this stake in Oracle was approximately $21,673,000.

Recent Institutional Activity

In addition to Parsons Capital Management, various other significant investors have also recently changed their positions in Oracle. For instance, State Street Corp increased its holdings in Oracle by 2.7% in the third quarter, resulting in ownership of 70,441,556 shares worth about $12 billion after adding 1,847,561 shares. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake by 2.6% during the same period, holding 35,194,683 shares valued at nearly $6 billion after a purchase of an additional 885,041 shares.

Moreover, Franklin Resources Inc. enhanced its investment in Oracle by 11.6%, bringing its total to 18,480,384 shares worth around $3.37 billion, following the acquisition of 1,917,416 shares. Fisher Asset Management LLC also grew its position by 1.8% to now own 17,898,029 shares valued at approximately $3.05 billion. In contrast, Janus Henderson Group PLC’s position was slightly increased by 0.4% to 14,608,951 shares, amounting to a value of $2.49 billion. Overall, institutional investors collectively hold 42.44% of Oracle's shares.

Insider Activities at Oracle

In other news related to Oracle, CEO Safra Catz completed a sale of 345,174 shares of stock on January 24. The shares were sold at a price of $185.56 each, totaling around $64 million. After this transaction, Catz retains ownership of 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207.57 million, which marks a 23.58% decline from their previous stake. Details of this transaction were filed with the SEC and can be accessed publicly.

Market Analysts Assess Oracle

Various market analysts have recently provided insights regarding Oracle's stock performance. Citigroup raised its target price for Oracle from $157.00 to $194.00 while maintaining a 'neutral' rating in their December report. BNP Paribas upgraded the stock to a 'strong-buy' rating during their evaluation months. DA Davidson also increased the target price from $140.00 to $150.00 with a 'neutral' rating. In contrast, StockNews.com downgraded Oracle from a 'buy' to a 'hold' rating earlier this month. Overall, the stock has received more positive ratings, with one sell rating, eleven hold ratings, seventeen buy ratings, and two strong buy ratings. The consensus rating stands at 'Moderate Buy,' with an average price target of $182.73 according to MarketBeat data.

Current Stock Performance

As of Monday, shares of Oracle traded at $183.59. The company has a current ratio and quick ratio of 0.81, and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. The moving averages for the company show 50-day and 200-day averages of $174.41 and $162.79, respectively. Oracle has seen significant fluctuations within the last year, recording a low of $106.51 and a high of $198.31, resulting in a market capitalization of around $513.50 billion.

Recent Earnings Announcement

Oracle recently announced its quarterly earnings on December 9. The company reported earnings per share (EPS) of $1.47, which was slightly below the anticipated EPS of $1.48. Oracle's revenue for the quarter was reported at $14.06 billion, which also fell short of the expected $14.12 billion. Despite a robust performance, the company experienced a year-over-year revenue increase of 8.6%, compared to the same period last year when the EPS was $1.34. Analysts predict that Oracle will achieve an EPS of 5.01 for the current fiscal year.

Dividend Update

Additionally, Oracle has recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was disbursed on January 9. Shareholders recorded as of January 23 received a dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date for this payment was January 10. This results in an annualized dividend of $1.60 and a yield of 0.87%. Oracle’s payout ratio currently stands at 39.12%.

About Oracle Corporation

Oracle Corporation is a major player in the information technology sector, offering a wide range of products and services designed for enterprise environments worldwide. Its suite of offerings includes cloud software as a service applications like Oracle Fusion for enterprise resource planning, human capital management, supply chain management, and more.

Oracle, Investment, Shares