Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL) Stake Boosted by Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC increased its stake in Oracle Corporation by 25.2% during the first quarter, valuing its holdings at $5.5 million.
• Oracle's recent quarterly earnings report showed an EPS of $1.70, surpassing analysts' estimates by $0.06, and revenue increased by 11.3% year-over-year.
• Equities analysts have raised their price targets for Oracle, with Guggenheim boosting the target from $220 to $250, reflecting a positive outlook on the stock.

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC increased its position in Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 25.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 39,342 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after acquiring an additional 7,917 shares during the period. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC's holdings in Oracle were worth $5,500,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ORCL. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Oracle by 189.3% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 153,580 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $25,593,000 after buying an additional 100,494 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Oracle by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,418 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $903,000 after buying an additional 404 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Oracle during the 4th quarter valued at $309,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new stake in Oracle during the 4th quarter valued at $163,000. Finally, Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. grew its holdings in Oracle by 32.0% during the 4th quarter. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. now owns 7,849 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $1,308,000 after buying an additional 1,904 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ORCL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Oracle in a report on Thursday, June 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "buy" rating and set a $240.00 price objective (up previously from $200.00) on shares of Oracle in a report on Thursday, June 12th. UBS Group raised 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. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Oracle in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, CIBC restated a "buy" rating on shares of Oracle in a report on Monday, June 9th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $218.29.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In other news, Director Rona Alison Fairhead purchased 480 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 7th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $233.87 per share, for a total transaction of $112,257.60. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 22,110 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,170,865.70. This trade represents a 2.22% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 3,303 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 448,669 shares of company stock valued at $85,555,309. Company insiders own 42.20% of the company's stock.

Oracle Stock Up 0.9%

NYSE:ORCL traded up $2.22 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $245.05. The company had a trading volume of 7,146,126 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,472,494. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $204.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $171.59. 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 Corporation has a 1 year low of $118.86 and a 1 year high of $251.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $688.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.46, a PEG ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 1.39.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.58 billion. During the same period 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. Equities analysts forecast that Oracle Corporation will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 10th. Oracle's payout ratio is 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.