Alberta Investment Management Corp Purchases 17,773 Shares of Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL)

Key Points

• Alberta Investment Management Corp increased its stake in Oracle Corporation by 41.9%, acquiring an additional 17,773 shares, bringing its total holdings to 60,173 shares valued at approximately $8.4 million.
• Insiders, including Vice Chairman Jeffrey Henley, sold significant amounts of Oracle stock, with Henley selling 400,000 shares for over $76 million, which indicates a 26.71% decrease in his position.
• Oracle's current stock price is around $244.44, reflecting a strong growth forecast as analysts have issued multiple buy ratings and raised target prices for the stock significantly.

Alberta Investment Management Corp grew its position in shares of Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 41.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 60,173 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after acquiring an additional 17,773 shares during the period. Alberta Investment Management Corp's holdings in Oracle were worth $8,413,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Oracle by 189.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 153,580 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $25,593,000 after purchasing an additional 100,494 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in Oracle by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,418 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $903,000 after buying an additional 404 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Oracle by 200.4% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 172,483 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $28,743,000 after buying an additional 115,059 shares during the period. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Oracle by 37.8% in the fourth quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,135 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $1,356,000 after buying an additional 2,232 shares during the period. Finally, ExodusPoint Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Oracle during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $12,605,000. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In other Oracle news, insider Clayton M. Magouyrk sold 15,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.10, for a total transaction of $3,211,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 60,722 shares in the company, valued at $13,000,580.20. The trade was a 19.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Vice Chairman Jeffrey Henley sold 400,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.42, for a total transaction of $76,168,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 1,097,576 shares of the company's stock, valued at $209,000,421.92. The trade was a 26.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 431,169 shares of company stock worth $82,908,609. Company insiders own 42.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ORCL has been the subject of several research reports. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Oracle from $215.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $240.00 price target (up from $200.00) on shares of Oracle in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Oracle from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Oracle from $140.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, June 12th. Finally, CIBC reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Oracle in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $218.29.

Oracle Price Performance

NYSE ORCL opened at $244.44 on Friday. Oracle Corporation has a one year low of $118.86 and a one year high of $260.87. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $213.55 and a 200 day moving average of $174.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.07, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.75. The company has a market capitalization of $686.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.32, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.43.

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

Oracle Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 10th. Oracle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.08%.

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.

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