First Financial Bankshares Inc Boosts Holdings in Oracle Corporation $ORCL

Key Points

• First Financial Bankshares Inc significantly increased its holdings in Oracle Corporation by acquiring 100,310 shares, bringing its total ownership to 102,167 shares valued at approximately $14.3 million.
• Several institutional investors have also boosted their stakes in Oracle, with Harel Insurance increasing its share by 71.6% during the same period.
• Analysts are generally optimistic about Oracle, with a consensus average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a price target averaging $227.04, alongside multiple upgrades from major brokerages.

First Financial Bankshares Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 5,401.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 102,167 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after acquiring an additional 100,310 shares during the quarter. First Financial Bankshares Inc's holdings in Oracle were worth $14,284,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. increased its position in shares of Oracle by 71.6% during the first quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 257,378 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $35,984,000 after acquiring an additional 107,404 shares during the last quarter. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. increased its position in shares of Oracle by 4.3% during the first quarter. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. now owns 51,350 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $7,179,000 after acquiring an additional 2,110 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle during the first quarter valued at approximately $732,692,000. Rockland Trust Co. increased its position in shares of Oracle by 4.8% during the first quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 10,165 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $1,421,000 after acquiring an additional 467 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Calamos Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Oracle by 1.5% during the first quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC now owns 711,290 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $99,445,000 after acquiring an additional 10,426 shares during the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Oracle Price Performance

NYSE ORCL traded down $1.02 on Tuesday, hitting $225.11. The stock had a trading volume of 10,444,468 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,853,720. Oracle Corporation has a 52-week low of $118.86 and a 52-week high of $260.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.07, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.75. The company has a market capitalization of $632.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 1.46. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $238.48 and a 200-day moving average of $185.65.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.64 by $0.06. Oracle had a net margin of 21.68% and a return on equity of 87.34%. The business had revenue of $15.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.63 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Oracle Corporation will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 10th. Oracle's payout ratio is currently 46.08%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Oracle news, insider Michael D. Sicilia sold 15,880 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.48, for a total value of $4,041,142.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 99,212 shares of the company's stock, valued at $25,247,469.76. The trade was a 13.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Vice Chairman Jeffrey Henley sold 400,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 12th. The stock was 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 directly owned 1,097,576 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $209,000,421.92. This represents a 26.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 444,183 shares of company stock worth $86,521,198. 42.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Oracle from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $180.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Monday, June 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped 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. Loop Capital set a $135.00 price objective on Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. KeyCorp upped 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Oracle from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $227.04.

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.