Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL) Position Lessened by Foster & Motley Inc.

Key Points

• Foster & Motley Inc. has reduced its stake in Oracle Corporation by 4.1%, now holding 100,338 shares worth approximately $14 million, making it the firm's 20th largest position.
• Despite this reduction, institutional investors own 42.44% of Oracle's stock, indicating robust interest in the company, with several hedge funds increasing their stakes in recent months.
• Oracle's recent quarterly earnings surpassed expectations, with earnings per share at $1.70 and revenue of $15.90 billion, reflecting an annual growth rate of 11.3%.

Foster & Motley Inc. decreased its position in Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 4.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 100,338 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after selling 4,246 shares during the quarter. Oracle accounts for about 0.9% of Foster & Motley Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Foster & Motley Inc.'s holdings in Oracle were worth $14,028,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Oracle in the first quarter worth about $27,000. Inlight Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Oracle in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Oracle by 284.9% in the 1st quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 204 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Oracle in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new position in Oracle in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on ORCL. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Oracle in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Oracle from $135.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, June 12th. Mizuho decreased their target price on Oracle from $210.00 to $180.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Oracle from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $180.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Monday, June 30th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Oracle from $145.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $218.29.

Oracle Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ORCL traded up $0.56 on Wednesday, reaching $250.54. 8,386,083 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,441,882. Oracle Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $118.86 and a fifty-two week high of $253.07. The company's 50 day moving average is $209.84 and its 200-day moving average is $173.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $703.72 billion, a PE ratio of 57.73, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 1.39. 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 announced its earnings results on Wednesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $15.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.63 earnings per share. Oracle's revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Oracle Corporation will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 10th. Oracle's dividend payout ratio is presently 46.08%.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In other news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 3,303 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.32, for a total value of $770,655.96. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 31,447 shares in the company, valued at $7,337,214.04. This represents a 9.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Rona Alison Fairhead bought 480 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 7th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $233.87 per share, with a total value of $112,257.60. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 22,110 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,170,865.70. This represents a 2.22% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 448,669 shares of company stock valued at $85,555,309. Corporate 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.