Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Purchases 331,700 Shares of Oracle Corporation $ORCL

Key Points

• Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its stake in Oracle Corporation by 22.9%, acquiring an additional 331,700 shares, bringing its total holdings to 1,779,416 shares valued at approximately $248.8 million.
• Oracle reported earnings per share (EPS) of $1.70 for the last quarter, surpassing the consensus estimate of $1.64, with revenues of $15.90 billion, reflecting an 11.3% year-over-year increase.
• Several analysts have a moderate buy consensus on Oracle stock, with price targets near $227.04, indicating confidence in the company's growth and performance moving forward.

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. grew its holdings in shares of Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 22.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,779,416 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after purchasing an additional 331,700 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned approximately 0.06% of Oracle worth $248,780,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Oracle by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,290 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $879,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the period. Tacita Capital Inc raised its position in shares of Oracle by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. Tacita Capital Inc now owns 1,245 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $174,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Oracle by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC now owns 4,333 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $606,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Tiller Private Wealth Inc. grew its holdings in Oracle by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Tiller Private Wealth Inc. now owns 1,599 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $224,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cadence Bank grew its holdings in Oracle by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Cadence Bank now owns 7,440 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $1,040,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 42.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on ORCL shares. Oppenheimer reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Loop Capital set a $135.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Roth Capital restated a "hold" rating on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Oracle from $220.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Oracle in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $227.04.

Oracle Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of Oracle stock traded down $1.75 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $223.55. 8,756,134 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,853,720. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $238.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $185.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.07. Oracle Corporation has a twelve month low of $118.86 and a twelve month high of $260.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $627.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 1.46.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.64 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $15.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.58 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 21.68% and a return on equity of 87.34%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.63 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Oracle Corporation will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Oracle's payout ratio is presently 46.08%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Maria Smith sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.99, for a total value of $2,329,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 40,807 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,507,622.93. This trade represents a 19.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Clayton M. Magouyrk sold 15,000 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.10, for a total value of $3,211,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 60,722 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,000,580.20. The trade was a 19.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 444,183 shares of company stock valued at $86,521,198. Insiders own 42.20% of the company's stock.

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.