Callahan Advisors LLC Sells 3,753 Shares of Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL)

Callahan Advisors LLC lowered its stake in shares of Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 45.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,553 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after selling 3,753 shares during the quarter. Callahan Advisors LLC's holdings in Oracle were worth $637,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,216,314,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Oracle by 15,012.3% in the 1st 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 during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of Oracle by 20.5% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Oracle by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 157,411,949 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $26,231,127,000 after purchasing an additional 2,296,069 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Oracle by 268.4% in the 4th 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. Institutional investors own 42.44% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ORCL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Oracle from $145.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Stephens started coverage on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $167.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Oracle from $135.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Oracle from $156.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Finally, CIBC reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $209.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In related news, Vice Chairman Jeffrey Henley sold 400,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.42, for a total transaction of $76,168,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,097,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $209,000,421.92. The trade was a 26.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Clayton M. Magouyrk sold 15,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.10, for a total transaction of $3,211,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 60,722 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,000,580.20. The trade was a 19.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 445,366 shares of company stock valued at $84,784,653 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 42.20% of the company's stock.

Oracle Price Performance

NYSE ORCL opened at $235.08 on Friday. 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 12-month low of $118.86 and a 12-month high of $241.44. The company has a market capitalization of $660.30 billion, a PE ratio of 54.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.39. The firm's 50 day moving average is $185.56 and its 200-day moving average is $166.09.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.64 by $0.06. Oracle had a net margin of 21.68% and a return on equity of 87.34%. The company had revenue of $15.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.58 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.63 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Oracle Corporation will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.85%. Oracle's payout ratio is 46.08%.

Oracle 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.

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