Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Buys 66,486 Shares of Oracle Corporation $ORCL

Key Points

• Bahl & Gaynor Inc. increased its stake in Oracle Corporation by 35.5%, purchasing an additional 66,486 shares, bringing their total holdings to 253,948 shares valued at approximately $35.5 million.
• Several large investors, including Vanguard Group and Polen Capital Management, have also boosted their positions in Oracle, indicating strong institutional interest.
• Oracle announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, with a current annualized dividend yield of 0.8% and a payout ratio of 46.08%.

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. increased its position in shares of Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 35.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 253,948 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after acquiring an additional 66,486 shares during the quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.'s holdings in Oracle were worth $35,504,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ORCL. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in Oracle by 189.3% in 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 period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC lifted 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 period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its position in shares of Oracle by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 64,065 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $10,676,000 after purchasing an additional 4,550 shares during the last quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp grew its stake in shares of Oracle by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 25,814 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $4,302,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the period. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its holdings in Oracle by 268.4% in the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 3,077,947 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $512,909,000 after purchasing an additional 2,242,520 shares during the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In other Oracle news, EVP Maria Smith sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.99, for a total value of $2,329,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 40,807 shares in the company, valued at $9,507,622.93. This trade represents a 19.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 3,303 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.32, for a total transaction of $770,655.96. Following the transaction, the director owned 31,447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,337,214.04. The trade was a 9.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 444,183 shares of company stock worth $86,521,198. Corporate insiders own 42.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Bank of America raised their target price on Oracle from $220.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $195.00 target price (up previously from $145.00) on shares of Oracle in a research note on Friday, June 13th. DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Oracle from $140.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Oracle from $245.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Oracle from $215.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $227.04.

Oracle Stock Up 1.3%

NYSE ORCL traded up $3.0070 on Friday, reaching $236.1670. The company had a trading volume of 9,333,223 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,425,400. The company's fifty day moving average is $235.36 and its 200-day moving average is $182.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $663.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.43. 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 Corporation has a 1-year low of $118.86 and a 1-year high of $260.87.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.64 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $15.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.58 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 87.34% and a net margin of 21.68%.Oracle's quarterly revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.63 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Oracle Corporation will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

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 dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Oracle's payout ratio is 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.