Fortis Capital Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Position in Oracle Corporation $ORCL

Key Points

• Fortis Capital Advisors LLC has reduced its stake in Oracle Corporation by 41.7%, owning 6,048 shares valued at approximately $846,000 after selling 4,320 shares in the first quarter.
• Analysts have recently upgraded Oracle's stock ratings, with Bank of America moving it from "neutral" to "buy" and setting a target price of $368.00.
• Oracle has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50, with an annualized dividend yield of 0.8%, set to be paid on October 23rd to investors of record on October 9th.

Fortis Capital Advisors LLC lessened its position in shares of Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 41.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,048 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after selling 4,320 shares during the quarter. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Oracle were worth $846,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. grew its stake in Oracle by 71.6% during the 1st 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 purchasing an additional 107,404 shares during the last quarter. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. boosted its stake in shares of Oracle by 4.3% in the first quarter. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. now owns 51,350 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $7,179,000 after buying an additional 2,110 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle in the first quarter worth about $732,692,000. Rockland Trust Co. boosted its stake in shares of Oracle by 4.8% in the first quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 10,165 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $1,421,000 after buying an additional 467 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Calamos Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Oracle by 1.5% in the first quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC now owns 711,290 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $99,445,000 after buying an additional 10,426 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on ORCL shares. Bank of America upgraded Oracle from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $368.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. DA Davidson upped their target price on Oracle from $220.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Oracle from $175.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday. Mizuho upped their target price on Oracle from $245.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Oracle from $270.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $264.14.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In related news, EVP Maria Smith sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.99, for a total value of $2,329,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 40,807 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,507,622.93. This represents a 19.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Michael D. Sicilia sold 15,880 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.48, for a total value of $4,041,142.40. Following the transaction, the insider owned 99,212 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $25,247,469.76. This represents a 13.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 444,183 shares of company stock valued at $86,521,198. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Oracle Stock Performance

Shares of ORCL stock opened at $241.67 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $678.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.68, a P/E/G ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 1.46. The business's 50 day moving average is $240.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $187.60. 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 12-month low of $118.86 and a 12-month high of $260.87.

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

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, October 9th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Oracle's dividend payout ratio 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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