ING Groep NV Sells 254,994 Shares of Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL)

Key Points

• ING Groep NV reduced its stake in Oracle Corporation by 55.6%, selling 254,994 shares and leaving it with 203,819 shares worth approximately $28.5 million.
• Several hedge funds significantly increased their holdings in Oracle, with GAMMA Investing LLC raising its position by 15,012.3%, now owning 4.8 million shares valued at about $664.8 million.
• Oracle announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50, which results in an annualized dividend of $2.00 and a yield of 0.8% as of the last report.

ING Groep NV cut its stake in shares of Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 55.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 203,819 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after selling 254,994 shares during the period. ING Groep NV's holdings in Oracle were worth $28,496,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Oracle by 15,012.3% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,755,096 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $664,810,000 after acquiring an additional 4,723,631 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in Oracle by 20.5% during the fourth 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 valued at $2,303,858,000 after acquiring an additional 2,350,448 shares during the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its position in Oracle by 268.4% during the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 3,077,947 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $512,909,000 after acquiring an additional 2,242,520 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Oracle by 12.5% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 19,620,534 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $3,269,566,000 after acquiring an additional 2,176,892 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $216,047,000. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ORCL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Westpark Capital raised their target price on shares of Oracle from $195.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, June 12th. JMP Securities raised their target price on shares of Oracle from $240.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Oracle from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. CIBC restated a "buy" rating on shares of Oracle in a report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Oracle from $145.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, June 12th. Nine investment 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $218.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 3,303 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 31,447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,337,214.04. This trade represents a 9.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Vice Chairman Jeffrey Henley sold 400,000 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.42, for a total value of $76,168,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 1,097,576 shares of the company's stock, valued at $209,000,421.92. The trade was a 26.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 428,303 shares of company stock worth $82,480,056 in the last three months. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Oracle Price Performance

ORCL opened at $244.44 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $213.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $174.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.07, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.75. The firm has a market cap of $686.59 billion, a PE ratio of 56.32, a P/E/G ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 1.43. Oracle Corporation has a 1 year low of $118.86 and a 1 year high of $260.87.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $15.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.63 EPS. Oracle's quarterly revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Oracle Corporation will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 10th. Oracle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.08%.

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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