Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Increases Stake in Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL)

Key Points

• Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management significantly increased its stake in Oracle Corporation by 79.2% during the first quarter, now holding over 4.6 million shares valued at approximately $648.57 million.
• Despite insider selling, Oracle's stock received positive attention from analysts, with several upgrades to target prices, reflecting a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average target around $222.75.
• Oracle reported solid fiscal performance with earnings of $1.70 per share, exceeding expectations, alongside a quarterly dividend of $0.50 reflecting an annualized yield of 0.8%.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 79.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,638,951 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after buying an additional 2,049,687 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned about 0.17% of Oracle worth $648,572,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Y.D. More Investments Ltd increased its position in shares of Oracle by 7.1% during the first quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 17,768 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $2,484,000 after buying an additional 1,173 shares during the period. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Oracle by 71.5% in the first quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC now owns 10,706 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $1,497,000 after purchasing an additional 4,464 shares during the period. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC grew its holdings in Oracle by 8.6% in the first quarter. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC now owns 2,562 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $358,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Oracle in the first quarter worth about $58,000. Finally, Blue Barn Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Oracle by 15.4% in the first quarter. Blue Barn Wealth LLC now owns 5,330 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $745,000 after purchasing an additional 710 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Oracle news, Vice Chairman Jeffrey Henley sold 400,000 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.42, for a total value of $76,168,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,097,576 shares of the company's stock, valued at $209,000,421.92. This trade represents a 26.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Rona Alison Fairhead acquired 480 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 7th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $233.87 per share, with a total value of $112,257.60. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 22,110 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,170,865.70. This represents a 2.22% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 428,303 shares of company stock worth $82,480,056. Insiders own 42.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Oracle from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of Oracle from $140.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Westpark Capital upped their target price on shares of Oracle from $195.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Oracle from $275.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $222.75.

Oracle Stock Performance

ORCL opened at $256.52 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $720.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.11, a PEG ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a fifty day moving average of $219.21 and a 200 day moving average of $176.71. Oracle Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $118.86 and a fifty-two week high of $260.87. 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 posted its earnings results on Wednesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.64 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $15.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.58 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 21.68% and a return on equity of 87.34%. Oracle's quarterly revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.63 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Oracle Corporation will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

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

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.

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