Independent Franchise Partners LLP Acquires 60,478 Shares of Oracle Corporation $ORCL

Key Points

• Independent Franchise Partners LLP increased its stake in Oracle Corporation by 1.5%, acquiring an additional 60,478 shares, bringing its total holdings to approximately 4.2% of its investment portfolio.
• Oracle's recent earnings report showed $1.70 earnings per share, exceeding estimates, with revenue reaching $15.90 billion, up 11.3% year-over-year.
• In insider activity, Maria Smith sold 10,000 shares at an average price of $232.99, and other insiders have collectively sold a total of 444,183 shares worth over $86 million.

Independent Franchise Partners LLP boosted its holdings in Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 1.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,198,933 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after acquiring an additional 60,478 shares during the quarter. Oracle accounts for about 4.2% of Independent Franchise Partners LLP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Independent Franchise Partners LLP owned 0.15% of Oracle worth $587,053,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ORCL. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Oracle in the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Inlight Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Oracle in the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Oracle by 284.9% in the 1st quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 204 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Oracle in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new position in Oracle in the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In related news, EVP Maria Smith sold 10,000 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 40,807 shares in the company, valued at $9,507,622.93. This represents a 19.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Michael D. Sicilia sold 15,880 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.48, for a total value of $4,041,142.40. Following the sale, the insider owned 99,212 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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. Insiders sold a total of 444,183 shares of company stock worth $86,521,198 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 42.20% of the company's stock.

Oracle Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of ORCL stock opened at $236.1670 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $663.35 billion, a PE ratio of 54.42, a P/E/G ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.43. Oracle Corporation has a 1-year low of $118.86 and a 1-year high of $260.87. The business has a 50-day moving average of $235.36 and a 200 day moving average of $182.87. 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 issued its earnings results on Wednesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.64 by $0.06. The company 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%.Oracle's quarterly revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.63 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Oracle Corporation will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ORCL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JMP Securities upped their target price on Oracle from $240.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Oracle in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Mizuho upped their price objective on Oracle from $245.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Oracle from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Westpark Capital upped their price objective on Oracle from $195.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, June 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Oracle has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $227.04.

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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