Oracle Corporation $ORCL Shares Sold by American Century Companies Inc.

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. reduced its stake in Oracle Corporation by 43.6%, selling 827,152 shares and leaving it with 1,068,672 shares valued at approximately $149.4 million.
• Oracle reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $1.70, surpassing estimates and showing an 11.3% year-over-year revenue increase to $15.90 billion.
• Insider selling activity was noted, with executives selling a total of 444,183 shares in the last ninety days, indicating significant trading movements within the company.

American Century Companies Inc. decreased its position in Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 43.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,068,672 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after selling 827,152 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc.'s holdings in Oracle were worth $149,411,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ORCL. Ethic Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 186,696 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $26,500,000 after acquiring an additional 6,536 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 19.4% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 17,582 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $2,458,000 after acquiring an additional 2,855 shares during the last quarter. High Falls Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. High Falls Advisors Inc now owns 4,071 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $569,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Aberdeen Group plc lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 44.4% in the 1st quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 1,443,274 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $199,684,000 after acquiring an additional 443,669 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tacita Capital Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 6.0% in the 1st quarter. Tacita Capital Inc now owns 1,245 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $174,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company's stock.

Oracle Stock Performance

Oracle stock traded up $3.52 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $248.48. 11,535,891 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,914,906. Oracle Corporation has a 12-month low of $118.86 and a 12-month high of $260.87. 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 stock has a market cap of $697.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.71 and a beta of 1.43. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $230.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $180.59.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $15.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.58 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.63 EPS. Oracle's revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Oracle Corporation will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 10th. Oracle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Maria Smith sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were 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 owned 40,807 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,507,622.93. This trade represents a 19.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Clayton M. Magouyrk sold 15,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 owned 60,722 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,000,580.20. This trade represents a 19.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 444,183 shares of company stock worth $86,521,198. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ORCL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Oracle in a report on Thursday, July 17th. They issued a "sector outperform" rating and a $300.00 price objective on the stock. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Oracle from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, June 12th. Roth Capital reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Oracle in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. CIBC reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Oracle in a report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Oracle from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Nine equities research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $227.04.

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.