Graham Capital Management L.P. Makes New Investment in Oracle Corporation $ORCL

Key Points

• Graham Capital Management L.P. has acquired 6,371 shares of Oracle Corporation valued at approximately $891,000 in the first quarter, signaling increased institutional interest in the company.
• Analysts have raised price targets for Oracle, with UBS Group setting a new target of $280.00 and several others indicating strong buying potential, contributing to a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."
• Oracle recently reported earnings of $1.70 per share, exceeding expectations, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50, reflecting the company's solid financial performance.

Graham Capital Management L.P. bought a new position in Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 6,371 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock, valued at approximately $891,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Oracle by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 160,925,413 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $22,498,982,000 after purchasing an additional 3,513,464 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Oracle by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 19,741,423 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $2,760,048,000 after purchasing an additional 120,889 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in Oracle by 20.5% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 13,825,360 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $2,303,858,000 after purchasing an additional 2,350,448 shares in the last quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Oracle by 17.6% in the 1st quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC now owns 12,609,101 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $1,762,878,000 after purchasing an additional 1,885,370 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Oracle by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,975,191 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $1,534,624,000 after purchasing an additional 94,236 shares in the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on ORCL shares. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Oracle from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Oracle from $135.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, June 12th. Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Oracle in a report on Thursday, July 17th. They set a "sector outperform" rating and a $300.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Oracle from $215.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised shares of Oracle from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $190.00 to $270.00 in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $227.04.

Oracle Price Performance

ORCL stock opened at $222.89 on Friday. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $238.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $186.25. Oracle Corporation has a 12-month low of $118.86 and a 12-month high of $260.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $626.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.36, a PEG ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 1.46. 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 (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.64 by $0.06. Oracle had a net margin of 21.68% and a return on equity of 87.34%. The firm had revenue of $15.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.63 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Oracle Corporation will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Oracle's payout ratio is presently 46.08%.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In other news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 3,303 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.32, for a total transaction of $770,655.96. Following the sale, the director owned 31,447 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,337,214.04. The trade was a 9.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Clayton M. Magouyrk sold 15,000 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.10, for a total transaction of $3,211,500.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 60,722 shares in the company, valued at $13,000,580.20. The trade was a 19.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 444,183 shares of company stock valued at $86,521,198. Company insiders own 42.20% of the company's stock.

Oracle 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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