ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. Purchases New Stake 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. acquired a new stake in Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 170,852 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock, valued at approximately $23,887,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ORCL. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Oracle by 189.3% during 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 last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Oracle by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,418 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $903,000 after purchasing an additional 404 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Oracle by 200.4% during 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 last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 376,363 shares during the period. Finally, Cooper Haims Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Oracle by 15.0% in the fourth quarter. Cooper Haims Advisors LLC now owns 2,248 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $375,000 after acquiring an additional 293 shares during the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In related news, EVP Maria Smith sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 40,807 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,507,622.93. This represents a 19.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 3,303 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.32, for a total transaction of $770,655.96. Following the completion of 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 444,183 shares of company stock worth $86,521,198. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ORCL. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $195.00 price target (up previously from $145.00) on shares of Oracle in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Oppenheimer reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Oracle from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Oracle in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. They issued a "sector outperform" rating and a $300.00 price target on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Oracle from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $222.75.

Oracle Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ORCL traded up $0.65 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $250.04. 8,301,832 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,356,510. 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 $702.32 billion, a PE ratio of 57.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 1.43. The company's 50 day moving average price is $222.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $177.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.07.

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. The business had revenue of $15.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.58 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 21.68% and a return on equity of 87.34%. Oracle's quarterly revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.63 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Oracle Corporation will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

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

About Oracle

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.