Cerity Partners LLC Acquires 173,315 Shares of Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL)

Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 20.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,021,466 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after purchasing an additional 173,315 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in Oracle were worth $142,841,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Oracle in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Inlight Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Oracle during the first quarter valued at $28,000. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Oracle in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Oracle in the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company's stock.

Oracle Stock Down 0.3%

Oracle stock opened at $235.08 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.07. Oracle Corporation has a 1-year low of $118.86 and a 1-year high of $241.44. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $185.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $166.09. The company has a market cap of $660.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.39.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.70 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $15.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.63 EPS. Oracle's revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Oracle Corporation will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Oracle from $156.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. Citigroup reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Oracle in a report on Thursday, June 12th. Evercore ISI reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $209.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Maria Smith sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.99, for a total transaction of $2,329,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 40,807 shares in the company, valued at $9,507,622.93. The trade was a 19.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,866 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.53, for a total transaction of $428,552.98. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 31,764 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,749,670.92. The trade was a 8.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 445,366 shares of company stock worth $84,784,653 in the last quarter. 42.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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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