Freestone Capital Holdings LLC Increases Stock Position in Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL)

Key Points

• Freestone Capital Holdings LLC increased its stake in Oracle Corporation by 2.9%, owning 112,364 shares valued at approximately $15.71 million after buying an additional 3,201 shares.
• Brokerages have raised their price targets for Oracle, with DA Davidson setting a new target at $170 and Jefferies increasing theirs to $200, indicating a favorable outlook from analysts.
• Oracle's recent earnings report showed strong performance, with an EPS of $1.70 exceeding estimates, and the company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share.

Freestone Capital Holdings LLC grew its stake in Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 2.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 112,364 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after acquiring an additional 3,201 shares during the period. Freestone Capital Holdings LLC's holdings in Oracle were worth $15,710,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ORCL. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Oracle by 71.6% in 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 purchasing an additional 107,404 shares during the period. 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 valued at $7,179,000 after purchasing an additional 2,110 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Oracle in the first quarter valued at approximately $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 valued at $1,421,000 after purchasing an additional 467 shares during the period. 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 valued at $99,445,000 after purchasing an additional 10,426 shares during the period. 42.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on ORCL. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Oracle from $140.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, June 12th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 9th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Oracle from $275.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $240.00 target price (up previously from $200.00) on shares of Oracle in a report on Thursday, June 12th. Finally, Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Oracle in a report on Thursday, June 12th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $227.04.

Oracle Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ORCL opened at $248.48 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $697.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.25, a PEG ratio of 3.71 and a beta of 1.43. Oracle Corporation has a one year low of $118.86 and a one year high of $260.87. The company's fifty day moving average is $230.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $180.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.07, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.75.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.64 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $15.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.58 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 21.68% and a return on equity of 87.34%. The business's revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.63 EPS. Analysts forecast that Oracle Corporation will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 10th. Oracle's payout ratio is presently 46.08%.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In other news, insider Michael D. Sicilia sold 15,880 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.48, for a total transaction 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 SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Rona Alison Fairhead purchased 480 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 7th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $233.87 per share, with a total value of $112,257.60. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 22,110 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,170,865.70. The trade was 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 444,183 shares of company stock worth $86,521,198. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Oracle Company 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.

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