Leavell Investment Management Inc. Grows Stock Position in Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL)

Leavell Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 6.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 35,971 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after buying an additional 2,114 shares during the quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Oracle were worth $5,029,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. increased its position in shares of Oracle by 71.6% in the 1st 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 acquiring an additional 107,404 shares during the period. Rockland Trust Co. increased its position in shares of Oracle by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 10,165 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $1,421,000 after acquiring an additional 467 shares during the period. Calamos Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Oracle by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC now owns 711,290 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $99,445,000 after acquiring an additional 10,426 shares during the period. Cornerstone Advisory LLC grew its position in Oracle by 34.1% during the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Advisory LLC now owns 12,968 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $2,258,000 after purchasing an additional 3,299 shares during the period. Finally, Peak Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new stake in Oracle during the 4th quarter worth about $211,000. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Oracle Stock Performance

Shares of ORCL stock opened at $236.47 on Thursday. The stock's 50-day moving average is $183.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $165.63. The firm has a market cap of $664.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.49, a PEG ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 1.39. Oracle Corporation has a 1 year low of $118.86 and a 1 year high of $241.44. 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 quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $15.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.63 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Oracle Corporation will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. Oracle's dividend payout ratio is presently 46.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Rona Alison Fairhead purchased 480 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 7th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $233.87 per share, with a total value of $112,257.60. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 22,110 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,170,865.70. The trade was a 2.22% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Clayton M. Magouyrk sold 15,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.10, for a total value of $3,211,500.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 60,722 shares in the company, valued at $13,000,580.20. This trade represents a 19.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 450,366 shares of company stock worth $85,433,503 in the last three months. Company insiders own 42.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on ORCL shares. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $221.00 price target (up from $202.00) on shares of Oracle in a research report on Friday, June 13th. UBS Group set a $250.00 target price on shares of Oracle and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. CIBC reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Citigroup reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $204.15.

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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