Oracle Corporation $ORCL Shares Sold by Ariel Investments LLC

Key Points

• Ariel Investments LLC reduced its stake in Oracle Corporation by 9.0%, now holding 38,008 shares valued at approximately $5.31 million.
• Multiple institutional investors, including Harel Insurance and Lockheed Martin Investment Management, significantly increased their positions in Oracle during the first quarter.
• Oracle reported earnings of $1.70 per share, exceeding expectations, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50, representing a yield of 0.9%.

Ariel Investments LLC trimmed its position in Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 9.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 38,008 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after selling 3,755 shares during the period. Ariel Investments LLC's holdings in Oracle were worth $5,314,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ORCL. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Oracle in the 1st quarter valued at $732,692,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Oracle by 15,012.3% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,755,096 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $664,810,000 after buying an additional 4,723,631 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Oracle by 2.2% in 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 buying an additional 3,513,464 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in Oracle by 20.5% during the fourth 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 last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Oracle by 79.2% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 4,638,951 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $648,572,000 after acquiring an additional 2,049,687 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Oracle news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 3,303 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.32, for a total value of $770,655.96. Following the sale, the director owned 31,447 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,337,214.04. This trade represents a 9.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, 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 transaction of $3,211,500.00. Following the completion of 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 444,183 shares of company stock valued at $86,521,198. Corporate insiders own 42.20% of the company's stock.

Oracle Trading Up 4.4%

NYSE ORCL traded up $9.87 on Friday, reaching $232.87. The stock had a trading volume of 15,362,371 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,682,923. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $239.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $186.62. Oracle Corporation has a 12-month low of $118.86 and a 12-month high of $260.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $654.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.66, a P/E/G ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.46.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.64 by $0.06. Oracle had a return on equity of 87.34% and a net margin of 21.68%.The business had revenue of $15.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.58 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.63 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Oracle Corporation will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Loop Capital set a $135.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $195.00 price target (up previously from $145.00) on shares of Oracle in a report on Friday, June 13th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Oracle from $145.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, June 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Oracle has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $227.04.

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.