ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. Buys New Position in Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL)

Key Points

• ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. acquired 170,852 shares of Oracle Corporation, valued at approximately $23.9 million, in the first quarter, indicating growing institutional interest in the company.
• Several other hedge funds have increased their positions in Oracle, with Vanguard Group Inc. now holding over 160 million shares worth around $22.5 billion.
• Equities analysts have raised their price targets for Oracle, with TD Cowen and UBS Group setting new targets between $275 and $280, reflecting positive market sentiment.

ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. bought a new position in Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 170,852 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock, valued at approximately $23,887,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ORCL. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of Oracle by 189.3% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 153,580 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $25,593,000 after buying an additional 100,494 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in Oracle by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,418 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $903,000 after acquiring an additional 404 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position 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 purchasing an additional 115,059 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia increased its stake in Oracle by 130.3% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 665,244 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $110,857,000 after acquiring an additional 376,363 shares during the period. Finally, Cooper Haims Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Oracle by 15.0% during the fourth quarter. Cooper Haims Advisors LLC now owns 2,248 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $375,000 after purchasing an additional 293 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ORCL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Raymond James Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Oracle from $145.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Oracle from $210.00 to $180.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Oracle in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $222.75.

Oracle Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of Oracle stock traded up $0.85 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $256.52. 9,919,562 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,380,186. Oracle Corporation has a twelve month low of $118.86 and a twelve month high of $260.87. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $217.36 and a 200-day moving average price of $176.15. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $720.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.11, a P/E/G ratio of 3.81 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, 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 company had revenue of $15.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.63 EPS. Oracle's revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate 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 dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 10th. Oracle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In related news, insider Clayton M. Magouyrk sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owned 60,722 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,000,580.20. This represents a 19.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 3,303 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.32, for a total transaction of $770,655.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 31,447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,337,214.04. The trade was a 9.51% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 428,303 shares of company stock worth $82,480,056 in the last three months. 42.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.