Flputnam Investment Management Co. Sells 31,591 Shares of Oracle Corporation $ORCL

Key Points

• Flputnam Investment Management Co. reduced its holdings in Oracle Corporation by 39.5%, selling 31,591 shares, and now owns 48,324 shares valued at approximately $6.76 million.
• Oracle's stock has attracted attention from analysts, with Guggenheim and UBS Group raising their price targets significantly, indicating a strong buy sentiment among a majority of ratings.
• Insider trading activity included Michael D. Sicilia selling 15,880 shares for over $4 million, reflecting a 13.80% decrease in his ownership of Oracle stock.

Flputnam Investment Management Co. decreased its position in shares of Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 39.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 48,324 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after selling 31,591 shares during the quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co.'s holdings in Oracle were worth $6,756,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ORCL. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Inlight Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Oracle by 284.9% during the first quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 204 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on ORCL. Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of Oracle from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Oracle from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $195.00 price objective (up previously from $145.00) on shares of Oracle in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Loop Capital set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, JMP Securities increased their price objective on shares of Oracle from $240.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $227.04.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Oracle news, insider Michael D. Sicilia sold 15,880 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 99,212 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,247,469.76. This trade represents a 13.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 3,303 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 31,447 shares in the company, valued at $7,337,214.04. The trade was a 9.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In 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 corporate insiders.

Oracle Stock Down 6.0%

ORCL opened at $225.97 on Monday. 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 $260.87. The company has a market capitalization of $634.72 billion, a PE ratio of 52.07, a PEG ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 1.46. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $237.90 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $185.01.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.70 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $15.58 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.63 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Oracle Corporation will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Oracle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.08%.

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.

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