Moors & Cabot Inc. Acquires 2,420 Shares of Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL)

Key Points

• Moors & Cabot Inc. increased its stake in Oracle Corporation by 6.4%, owning 40,216 shares valued at $5,623,000 as of the first quarter.
• Oracle reported earnings per share of $1.70 for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' estimates, and achieved revenue of $15.90 billion, up 11.3% year-over-year.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, yielding 0.8%, and noted that its dividend payout ratio is 46.08%.

Moors & Cabot Inc. boosted its position in Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 6.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 40,216 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after acquiring an additional 2,420 shares during the period. Moors & Cabot Inc.'s holdings in Oracle were worth $5,623,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC increased 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 valued at $664,810,000 after buying an additional 4,723,631 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased 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 valued at $2,303,858,000 after buying an additional 2,350,448 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased 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 valued at $512,909,000 after buying an additional 2,242,520 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Oracle by 12.5% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 19,620,534 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $3,269,566,000 after buying an additional 2,176,892 shares during the period. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter valued at about $216,047,000. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Oracle Price Performance

ORCL traded down $9.33 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $244.44. The stock had a trading volume of 12,500,927 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,602,974. The company has a market cap of $686.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.43. The business has a fifty day moving average of $213.55 and a 200 day moving average of $174.74. 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 Corporation has a 1 year low of $118.86 and a 1 year high of $260.87.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.64 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $15.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.58 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 87.34% and a net margin of 21.68%. Oracle's revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.63 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Oracle Corporation will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In related news, Director Rona Alison Fairhead acquired 480 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $233.87 per share, for a total transaction of $112,257.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 22,110 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,170,865.70. This trade represents a 2.22% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Vice Chairman Jeffrey Henley sold 400,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider owned 1,097,576 shares of the company's stock, valued at $209,000,421.92. The trade was a 26.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 431,169 shares of company stock valued at $82,908,609. Insiders own 42.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ORCL shares. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Loop Capital set a $135.00 price target on Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Oracle from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the company from $180.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Monday, June 30th. DA Davidson upped their price target on Oracle from $140.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. Finally, Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $221.00 price objective (up previously from $202.00) on shares of Oracle in a report on Friday, June 13th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.