Blue Whale Capital LLP Has $55.75 Million Stake in Oracle Corporation $ORCL

Key Points

• Blue Whale Capital LLP increased its stake in Oracle Corporation by 17.7%, holding a total of 398,728 shares worth approximately $55.75 million, making it the fund's 9th largest position.
• Analyst ratings for Oracle have improved significantly, with several firms raising their target prices; for instance, Evercore ISI increased their target from $215 to $270 while maintaining an "outperform" rating.
• Oracle's stock performance remains strong, with recent earnings showing a 11.3% year-over-year revenue increase, reporting $15.90 billion for the quarter, exceeding expectations.

Blue Whale Capital LLP lifted its position in shares of Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 17.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 398,728 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after acquiring an additional 59,929 shares during the quarter. Oracle makes up about 4.5% of Blue Whale Capital LLP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. Blue Whale Capital LLP's holdings in Oracle were worth $55,746,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Oracle in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Inlight Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Oracle in the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Oracle by 284.9% in the first quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 204 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares during the period. Finally, Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on ORCL. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Oracle from $215.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Oracle from $135.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Scotiabank began coverage on Oracle in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. They issued a "sector outperform" rating and a $300.00 target price for the company. Mizuho upped their price objective on Oracle from $245.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $240.00 price objective (up from $200.00) on shares of Oracle in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $227.04.

Oracle Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ORCL opened at $233.0010 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $234.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $182.32. Oracle Corporation has a 52 week low of $118.86 and a 52 week high of $260.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.07, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $654.46 billion, a PE ratio of 53.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 1.43.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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. Oracle had a return on equity of 87.34% and a net margin of 21.68%.The firm 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 firm posted $1.63 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Oracle Corporation will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Oracle's dividend payout ratio is currently 46.08%.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In other Oracle 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 value of $770,655.96. Following the sale, the director owned 31,447 shares in the company, valued at $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Rona Alison Fairhead acquired 480 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 7th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $233.87 per share, for a total transaction of $112,257.60. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 22,110 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,170,865.70. This trade represents a 2.22% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 444,183 shares of company stock valued at $86,521,198. Company insiders own 42.20% of the company's stock.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.