Mar Vista Investment Partners LLC Sells 92,337 Shares of Oracle Corporation $ORCL

Key Points

• Mar Vista Investment Partners LLC cut its Oracle stake by 43.1% in the fourth quarter, selling 92,337 shares and leaving it with 122,093 shares worth about $23.8 million. Oracle still made up 2.2% of the firm’s portfolio.
• Wall Street remains broadly positive on Oracle, with several analysts reiterating buy/overweight ratings and the consensus target price at $268.27. Bank of America raised its target to $240, while BTIG set a $400 target.
• Oracle is benefiting from strong AI and cloud momentum, but investors are also watching concerns around a reported $3 billion Microsoft cloud deal falling through and Oracle’s heavy debt load. The company recently beat quarterly earnings expectations and also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share.

Mar Vista Investment Partners LLC reduced its holdings in Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 43.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 122,093 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after selling 92,337 shares during the quarter. Oracle comprises 2.2% of Mar Vista Investment Partners LLC's holdings, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Mar Vista Investment Partners LLC's holdings in Oracle were worth $23,797,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ORCL. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Oracle in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC boosted its position in shares of Oracle by 76.9% during the third quarter. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 115 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Turning Point Benefit Group Inc. purchased a new position in Oracle in the third quarter worth $35,000. HFM Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Oracle by 290.9% in the fourth quarter. HFM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 129 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Basepoint Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Oracle in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on ORCL shares. Bank of America boosted their target price on Oracle from $200.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Scotiabank restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. BTIG Research restated a "buy" rating and issued a $400.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research note on Friday, June 5th. KeyCorp reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Oracle in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on Oracle from $375.00 to $300.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have given a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $268.27.

Key Stories Impacting Oracle

Here are the key news stories impacting Oracle this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Oracle continued to highlight strong AI and cloud momentum, including new OPERA Cloud AI features for hotels and broader demand for its enterprise software and infrastructure, reinforcing the company’s long-term growth story. New AI Capabilities in Oracle OPERA Cloud Supercharge Hotel Operations
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts and commentators reiterated a bullish view, pointing to Oracle’s huge backlog, improving monetization of AI demand, and the possibility that the market is underestimating its future revenue conversion. Oracle: Discounted AI Story With Outsized Monetization Prospects - Reiterate Buy
• Positive Sentiment: Oracle said details in a report about failed Microsoft cloud leasing talks were inaccurate, limiting the chance that the headline would become a lasting negative if the market views it as overblown. Microsoft's cloud infrastructure talks with Oracle collapse, Business Insider reports
• Neutral Sentiment: Oracle also announced more customer adoption of its cloud applications, including the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health using Oracle Fusion Cloud Applications to improve operations and care. The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health Optimizes Operations and Patient Care with Oracle Fusion Cloud Applications
• Negative Sentiment: Investor anxiety increased after reports that Microsoft walked away from a potential Oracle cloud infrastructure deal worth more than $3 billion over security and compliance concerns, raising questions about near-term deal execution. Microsoft walked away from a $3 billion deal to lease Oracle cloud capacity over security concerns
• Negative Sentiment: Some market commentary also focused on Oracle’s heavy debt load and the cost of its large AI and cloud investment plans, which have fueled concerns about capital spending and financial flexibility. Oracle's Massive Debt Problem

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Stuart Levey sold 15,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.19, for a total transaction of $2,642,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 3,429 shares of the company's stock, valued at $604,155.51. This trade represents a 81.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 40.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Oracle Trading Down 2.3%

ORCL opened at $188.26 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $541.45 billion, a PE ratio of 32.29, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a quick ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.84. The business has a 50 day moving average of $186.43 and a 200-day moving average of $177.61. Oracle Corporation has a 52 week low of $134.57 and a 52 week high of $345.72.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, June 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $2.11 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.15. Oracle had a return on equity of 56.43% and a net margin of 25.37%.The company had revenue of $19.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $19.10 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.70 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Oracle has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 1.720-1.760 EPS and its FY 2027 guidance at 8.050-8.050 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Oracle Corporation will post 6.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 24th. Investors of record on Friday, 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 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 10th. Oracle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.31%.

About Oracle

Oracle Corporation is a multinational technology company that develops and sells database software, cloud engineered systems, enterprise software applications and related services. The company is widely known for its flagship Oracle Database and a portfolio of enterprise-grade software products that support data management, application development, analytics and middleware. Over recent years Oracle has expanded its focus to include cloud infrastructure and cloud applications, positioning itself as a provider of both platform and software-as-a-service solutions for large organizations.

Oracle's product and service offerings include Oracle Database and the Autonomous Database, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI), enterprise resource planning (ERP), human capital management (HCM) and supply chain management (SCM) cloud applications (often grouped under Oracle Fusion Cloud Applications), middleware such as WebLogic, and developer technologies including Java and MySQL.

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