Equitable Trust Co. Has $8.70 Million Stock Position in Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL)

Key Points

• Equitable Trust Co. increased its stake in Oracle Corporation by 74.4%, owning 62,209 shares valued at approximately $8.70 million after acquiring an additional 26,544 shares.
• Oracle's recent earnings report showed a net margin of 21.68% and earnings per share (EPS) of $1.70, exceeding analyst estimates.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, with a dividend yield of 0.82% and a payout ratio of 46.08%.

Equitable Trust Co. boosted its stake in Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 74.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 62,209 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after buying an additional 26,544 shares during the quarter. Equitable Trust Co.'s holdings in Oracle were worth $8,697,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter worth about $2,216,314,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 15,012.3% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,755,096 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $664,810,000 after buying an additional 4,723,631 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 20.5% during the fourth 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 buying an additional 2,350,448 shares during the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Oracle by 268.4% during the fourth 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 acquiring an additional 2,242,520 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Oracle by 12.5% in the fourth 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 period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ORCL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $195.00 target price (up from $145.00) on shares of Oracle in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "buy" rating and issued a $240.00 target price (up from $200.00) on shares of Oracle in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. JMP Securities lifted their price target on shares of Oracle from $240.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Oracle from $215.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $218.29.

Oracle Stock Up 0.9%

NYSE:ORCL traded up $2.22 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $245.05. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,146,126 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,472,494. The company has a market cap of $688.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 1.39. Oracle Corporation has a one year low of $118.86 and a one year high of $251.60. The business's 50-day moving average is $204.42 and its 200-day moving average is $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.

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, topping 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%. Oracle's revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.63 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Oracle Corporation will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The company 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. 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 46.08%.

Insider Activity

In other Oracle news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 17,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 of the company's stock, valued at $8,785,531.60. The trade was a 23.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 3,303 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.32, for a total transaction of $770,655.96. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 31,447 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,337,214.04. This represents a 9.51% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 448,669 shares of company stock worth $85,555,309. 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.