Altfest L J & Co. Inc. Purchases 2,835 Shares of Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL)

Key Points

• Altfest L J & Co. Inc. increased its stake in Oracle Corporation by 18.3% this quarter, acquiring an additional 2,835 shares, bringing their total to 18,350 shares valued at approximately $2.57 million.
• Insider trading included the sale of 15,000 shares by Clayton M. Magouyrk at an average price of $214.10 and a purchase of 480 shares by Director Rona Alison Fairhead at $233.87 per share.
• Oracle's recent quarterly earnings reported an EPS of $1.70, exceeding expectations, with revenue up 11.3% year-over-year to $15.90 billion and a dividend payout ratio of 46.08%.

Altfest L J & Co. Inc. lifted its stake in Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 18.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 18,350 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after acquiring an additional 2,835 shares during the quarter. Altfest L J & Co. Inc.'s holdings in Oracle were worth $2,565,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ORCL. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Oracle by 2.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 160,925,413 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $22,498,982,000 after purchasing an additional 3,513,464 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Oracle by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 19,620,534 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $3,269,566,000 after buying an additional 2,176,892 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of Oracle by 20.5% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 13,825,360 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $2,303,858,000 after acquiring an additional 2,350,448 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Oracle by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,975,191 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $1,534,624,000 after acquiring an additional 94,236 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Oracle by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,046,273 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $1,340,830,000 after acquiring an additional 335,352 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Clayton M. Magouyrk sold 15,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.10, for a total value of $3,211,500.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 60,722 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,000,580.20. This trade represents a 19.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Rona Alison Fairhead purchased 480 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $233.87 per share, for a total transaction of $112,257.60. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 22,110 shares in the company, valued at $5,170,865.70. The trade was a 2.22% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 444,183 shares of company stock valued at $86,521,198 over the last ninety days. 42.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Oracle Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ORCL traded down $7.05 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $249.38. The stock had a trading volume of 11,938,634 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,333,115. The company's 50-day moving average price is $220.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $177.32. Oracle Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $118.86 and a fifty-two week high of $260.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.07. The company has a market capitalization of $700.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.83 and a beta of 1.43.

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

Oracle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 yield of 0.8%. Oracle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.08%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on ORCL. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 9th. CIBC restated a "buy" rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Monday, June 9th. JMP Securities upped their price target on shares of Oracle from $240.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Scotiabank started coverage on Oracle in a report on Thursday, July 17th. They set a "sector outperform" rating and a $300.00 price objective for the company. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Oracle has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $222.75.

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.