AustralianSuper Pty Ltd Makes New Investment in Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL)

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 4,604 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock, valued at approximately $644,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Oracle during the 1st quarter worth $27,000. Inlight Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Oracle during the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Oracle by 284.9% during the 1st quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 204 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Oracle during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Oracle during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Institutional investors own 42.44% of the company's stock.

Oracle Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ORCL traded down $6.35 on Tuesday, hitting $237.19. 7,653,255 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,348,642. The firm has a market capitalization of $666.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.67, a PEG ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 1.39. The company's 50 day moving average price is $196.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $168.97. Oracle Corporation has a one year low of $118.86 and a one year high of $251.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.07, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.75.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $15.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.58 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 21.68% and a return on equity of 87.34%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.63 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Oracle Corporation will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.84%. Oracle's dividend payout ratio is presently 46.08%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on ORCL shares. Westpark Capital lifted their price objective on Oracle from $195.00 to $246.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Loop Capital set a $135.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Oracle in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on Oracle from $215.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Oracle presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $218.29.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In other news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.24, for a total value of $2,646,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 58,090 shares in the company, valued at $8,785,531.60. This represents a 23.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Vice Chairman Jeffrey Henley sold 400,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.42, for a total transaction of $76,168,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 1,097,576 shares of the company's stock, valued at $209,000,421.92. This represents a 26.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 448,669 shares of company stock worth $85,555,309 over the last ninety days. 42.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.