LGT Group Foundation Has $11.30 Million Position in Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL)

Key Points

• LGT Group Foundation has increased its stake in Oracle Corporation by 2.6%, acquiring an additional 2,082 shares, bringing its total holdings to 80,787 shares valued at approximately $11.3 million.
• Analysts have updated their price targets for Oracle, with Bank of America raising its target from $220 to $295 and Citigroup upgrading its rating to "strong-buy".
• Oracle recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, representing an annualized dividend yield of 0.8%, with a current payout ratio of 46.08%.

LGT Group Foundation boosted its position in Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 2.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 80,787 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,082 shares during the quarter. LGT Group Foundation's holdings in Oracle were worth $11,295,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. boosted its position in Oracle by 236.1% during the 1st quarter. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. now owns 4,474 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $626,000 after acquiring an additional 3,143 shares during the period. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Oracle during the first quarter valued at about $280,000. Prudential PLC grew its position in Oracle by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 180,460 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $25,230,000 after buying an additional 3,868 shares in the last quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd increased its stake in shares of Oracle by 580,700.0% during the first quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 162,624 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $22,736,000 after acquiring an additional 162,596 shares during the period. Finally, Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Oracle by 8.7% during the 1st quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 531,126 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $74,341,000 after purchasing an additional 42,709 shares during the period. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Oracle Stock Performance

ORCL traded up $0.86 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $253.54. The stock had a trading volume of 9,996,446 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,145,522. The firm has a market cap of $712.15 billion, a PE ratio of 58.42, a P/E/G ratio of 3.77 and a beta of 1.43. 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 12 month low of $118.86 and a 12 month high of $260.87. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $226.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $178.76.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.70 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 posted $1.63 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Oracle Corporation will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Oracle news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 3,303 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.32, for a total value of $770,655.96. Following the sale, the director directly owned 31,447 shares in the company, valued at $7,337,214.04. This trade represents a 9.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Rona Alison Fairhead acquired 480 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $233.87 per share, with a total value of $112,257.60. Following the transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 444,183 shares of company stock valued at $86,521,198 in the last 90 days. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Oracle from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. CIBC reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Oracle in a report on Monday, June 9th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Oracle from $220.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Oracle from $135.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, June 12th. Finally, JMP Securities boosted their price target on shares of Oracle from $240.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Nine research 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $222.75.

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.