Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Cuts Stock Position in Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 78.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 201,291 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after selling 713,841 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC's holdings in Oracle were worth $28,142,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter worth $2,216,314,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 worth $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 boosted its position in shares of 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 worth $2,303,858,000 after acquiring an additional 2,350,448 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Oracle by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 157,411,949 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $26,231,127,000 after acquiring an additional 2,296,069 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 worth $512,909,000 after acquiring an additional 2,242,520 shares during the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Oracle Trading Down 0.0%

ORCL stock traded down $0.01 during trading on Thursday, hitting $241.90. The company had a trading volume of 3,385,409 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,177,874. The firm has a market capitalization of $679.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.74, a PEG ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 1.39. Oracle Corporation has a 52-week low of $118.86 and a 52-week high of $251.60. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $201.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $170.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.07.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.64 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $15.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.58 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 21.68% and a return on equity of 87.34%. The firm's revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.63 EPS. As a group, research 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 will be paid on Thursday, July 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. Oracle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In other Oracle news, EVP Maria Smith sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.99, for a total transaction of $2,329,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 40,807 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,507,622.93. This trade represents a 19.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 17,500 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.24, for a total transaction of $2,646,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 58,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,785,531.60. The trade was a 23.15% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 448,669 shares of company stock worth $85,555,309. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ORCL. CIBC restated a "buy" rating on shares of Oracle in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Oracle from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Oracle from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating and set a $221.00 target price (up previously from $202.00) on shares of Oracle in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Oracle from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $218.29.

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.