Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Grows Position in Oracle Corporation $ORCL

Key Points

• The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its stake in Oracle Corporation by 31.2%, owning 1,359,976 shares valued at approximately $190.14 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Nuveen LLC and Vanguard Group, have also significantly increased their holdings, showcasing heightened interest in Oracle.
• Analysts have set optimistic price targets for Oracle, with estimates reaching as high as $315.00, reflecting a strong consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its position in shares of Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 31.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,359,976 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after purchasing an additional 323,203 shares during the quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board's holdings in Oracle were worth $190,138,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ORCL. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Oracle in the 1st quarter worth $27,000. Inlight Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Oracle in the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 284.9% in 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. Finally, Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Oracle in the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In other news, EVP Maria Smith sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.99, for a total transaction of $2,329,900.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 40,807 shares in the company, valued at $9,507,622.93. This represents a 19.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Vice Chairman Jeffrey Henley sold 400,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 1,097,576 shares of the company's stock, valued at $209,000,421.92. This trade represents a 26.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 444,183 shares of company stock valued at $86,521,198. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Oracle Stock Performance

ORCL traded down $14.35 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $225.97. The stock had a trading volume of 16,606,479 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,284,459. Oracle Corporation has a 1 year low of $118.86 and a 1 year high of $260.87. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $237.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $185.01. The stock has a market cap of $634.72 billion, a PE ratio of 52.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 1.46. 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 (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.64 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $15.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.58 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 21.68% and a return on equity of 87.34%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.63 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Oracle Corporation will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 was Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Oracle's dividend payout ratio is currently 46.08%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $240.00 target price (up from $200.00) on shares of Oracle in a report on Thursday, June 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Oracle from $135.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, June 12th. Mizuho increased their target price on Oracle from $245.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Oracle from $145.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price objective on Oracle from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $227.04.

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.