Baker Avenue Asset Management LP Increases Holdings in Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL)

Key Points

• Baker Avenue Asset Management LP increased its stake in Oracle Corporation by 3.1% in the first quarter, now holding 174,166 shares valued at approximately $24.35 million, making Oracle its 28th largest position.
• A number of hedge funds have significantly increased their positions in Oracle, including Brighton Jones LLC, which raised its stake by 189.3% in the fourth quarter, holding now 153,580 shares valued at $25.59 million.
• Oracle recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, with a dividend yield of 0.8% and a payout ratio of 46.08%.

Baker Avenue Asset Management LP increased its position in Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 3.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 174,166 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after acquiring an additional 5,171 shares during the period. Oracle comprises about 0.8% of Baker Avenue Asset Management LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP's holdings in Oracle were worth $24,350,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of ORCL. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Oracle by 15,012.3% during 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 purchasing an additional 4,723,631 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted 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 valued at $2,303,858,000 after purchasing an additional 2,350,448 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lifted its position in Oracle by 268.4% during 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 in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Oracle by 12.5% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 19,620,534 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $3,269,566,000 after purchasing an additional 2,176,892 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in Oracle during the fourth quarter valued at $216,047,000. Institutional investors own 42.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on ORCL shares. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Oracle from $145.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. Westpark Capital boosted their price objective on Oracle from $195.00 to $246.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Oracle from $135.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on Oracle from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. Finally, Loop Capital set a $135.00 price objective on Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $218.29.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 3,303 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,337,214.04. This represents a 9.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Maria Smith sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 431,169 shares of company stock valued at $82,908,609. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Oracle Trading Down 3.7%

NYSE ORCL traded down $9.33 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $244.44. 12,500,927 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,602,974. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $213.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $174.74. 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 Corporation has a 52 week low of $118.86 and a 52 week high of $260.87. The stock has a market cap of $686.59 billion, a PE ratio of 56.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.43.

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, topping the consensus estimate 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 for 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Oracle Corporation will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. 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.