Cetera Investment Advisers Purchases 40,181 Shares of Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL)

Key Points

• Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in Oracle Corporation by 9.4%, acquiring an additional 40,181 shares, bringing its total holdings to 468,066 shares worth approximately $65.4 million.
• Oracle reported earnings per share of $1.70 for its latest quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations by $0.06, with a revenue of $15.90 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, which provides an annual yield of 0.82%, and has a dividend payout ratio of 46.08%.

Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 9.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 468,066 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after purchasing an additional 40,181 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers' holdings in Oracle were worth $65,440,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. FMR LLC grew its position in Oracle by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 38,002,902 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $6,332,803,000 after purchasing an additional 156,269 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Oracle by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,814,302 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $5,954,961,000 after purchasing an additional 619,619 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Oracle by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 20,202,421 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $3,366,531,000 after purchasing an additional 1,722,037 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Oracle by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 19,620,534 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $3,269,566,000 after purchasing an additional 2,176,892 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 20.5% during 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 worth $2,303,858,000 after acquiring an additional 2,350,448 shares during the period. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Oracle Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE:ORCL opened at $245.05 on Friday. Oracle Corporation has a one year low of $118.86 and a one year high of $251.60. The company has a 50 day moving average of $204.42 and a 200-day moving average of $171.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.07, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.75. The stock has a market cap of $688.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.46, a P/E/G ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 1.39.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.64 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $15.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.58 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 21.68% and a return on equity of 87.34%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.63 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Oracle Corporation will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 10th. Oracle's dividend payout ratio is currently 46.08%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 17,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.24, for a total transaction of $2,646,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 58,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,785,531.60. The trade was a 23.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Clayton M. Magouyrk sold 15,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 17th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,000,580.20. This represents a 19.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 448,669 shares of company stock valued at $85,555,309. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on ORCL. Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Oracle in a report on Thursday, June 12th. Citigroup raised shares of Oracle from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. CIBC reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Oracle in a report on Monday, June 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Oracle from $145.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, June 12th. Finally, Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Oracle in a report on Thursday, July 17th. They set a "sector outperform" rating and a $300.00 price objective for the company. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $218.29.

Oracle Company 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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