Mizuho Securities USA LLC Sells 22,436 Shares of Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL)

Key Points

• Mizuho Securities USA LLC reduced its stake in Oracle Corporation by 14.7%, owning 129,892 shares valued at approximately $18.16 million after selling 22,436 shares in the first quarter.
• Other institutional investors, including Harel Insurance and Calamos Advisors, have significantly increased their holdings in Oracle, indicating strong interest in the company.
• Oracle reported $1.70 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding forecasts, with an annual revenue increase of 11.3% year-over-year.

Mizuho Securities USA LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 14.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 129,892 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after selling 22,436 shares during the quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC's holdings in Oracle were worth $18,160,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Oracle during the first quarter worth about $27,000. Inlight Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Oracle during the first quarter worth about $28,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Oracle by 284.9% during the first quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 204 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Oracle during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Oracle during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on ORCL shares. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Citigroup raised Oracle from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Piper Sandler raised Oracle from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $190.00 to $270.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Oracle from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Scotiabank began coverage on Oracle in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. They issued a "sector outperform" rating and a $300.00 target price for the company. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Oracle currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $222.75.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 3,303 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.32, for a total value of $770,655.96. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 31,447 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,337,214.04. This represents a 9.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Maria Smith sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.99, for a total value of $2,329,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 40,807 shares in the company, valued at $9,507,622.93. This trade represents a 19.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 444,183 shares of company stock worth $86,521,198 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 42.20% of the company's stock.

Oracle Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of Oracle stock traded up $0.65 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $250.04. The company had a trading volume of 8,301,832 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,356,510. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.07, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $702.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.61, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a 50 day moving average of $222.64 and a 200 day moving average of $177.81. Oracle Corporation has a 52-week low of $118.86 and a 52-week high of $260.87.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.70 earnings per share 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 return on equity of 87.34% and a net margin of 21.68%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.63 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Oracle Corporation will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 24th. Investors 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 is presently 46.08%.

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.