Focused Investors LLC Sells 27,000 Shares of Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL)

Focused Investors LLC reduced its position in Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 2.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,048,000 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after selling 27,000 shares during the quarter. Oracle comprises approximately 4.7% of Focused Investors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. Focused Investors LLC's holdings in Oracle were worth $146,521,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. increased its stake in 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 worth $35,984,000 after acquiring an additional 107,404 shares during the last quarter. Rockland Trust Co. lifted its stake in shares of Oracle by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 10,165 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $1,421,000 after purchasing an additional 467 shares during the last quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Oracle by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC now owns 711,290 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $99,445,000 after purchasing an additional 10,426 shares during the period. Cornerstone Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Oracle by 34.1% during the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Advisory LLC now owns 12,968 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $2,258,000 after purchasing an additional 3,299 shares during the period. Finally, Peak Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter worth $211,000. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JMP Securities set a $240.00 price target on Oracle and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, June 12th. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Oracle from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $180.00 to $250.00 in a report on Monday, June 30th. Guggenheim increased their price target on Oracle from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. UBS Group increased their price target on Oracle from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Oracle in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $215.61.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

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

Oracle Stock Up 3.2%

Shares of ORCL traded up $7.76 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $249.06. The company had a trading volume of 17,612,488 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,338,681. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $194.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $168.39. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $699.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.39, a P/E/G ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 1.39. Oracle Corporation has a 1 year low of $118.86 and a 1 year high of $251.60.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.64 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $15.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.58 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 87.34% and a net margin of 21.68%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.63 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Oracle Corporation will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. 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.