Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Sold by Morton Community Bank

Key Points

• Morton Community Bank reduced its stake in Oracle Corporation by 6.6%, owning 29,634 shares worth approximately $4.14 million after selling 2,102 shares in the first quarter.
• Several hedge funds, including Greenwood Gearhart Inc. and Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC, have adjusted their positions in Oracle, with some increasing their stakes by over 1% in recent quarters.
• Analysts have recently set new price targets for Oracle, with estimates ranging from $195.00 to $270.00, indicating a generally positive outlook for the company with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."

Morton Community Bank lowered its position in shares of Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 6.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 29,634 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after selling 2,102 shares during the period. Morton Community Bank's holdings in Oracle were worth $4,143,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Oracle by 15,012.3% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,755,096 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $664,810,000 after acquiring an additional 4,723,631 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Oracle by 2.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 160,925,413 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $22,498,982,000 after purchasing an additional 3,513,464 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 2,350,448 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 2,242,520 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted 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 worth $3,269,566,000 after buying an additional 2,176,892 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup upgraded Oracle from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Westpark Capital boosted their price target 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. JMP Securities raised their price objective on shares of Oracle from $240.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Loop Capital set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Oracle in a report on Thursday, July 17th. They set a "sector outperform" rating and a $300.00 target price on the stock. 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Oracle currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $222.75.

Oracle Stock Up 0.3%

ORCL traded up $0.65 on Friday, reaching $250.04. The company's stock had a trading volume of 8,301,832 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,356,510. 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 Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $118.86 and a fifty-two week high of $260.87. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $222.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $177.85. The company has a market capitalization of $702.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.61, a P/E/G ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 1.43.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.64 by $0.06. Oracle had a net margin of 21.68% and a return on equity of 87.34%. The business had revenue of $15.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.63 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Oracle Corporation will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Oracle news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 3,303 shares of the business'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 completion of the sale, the director owned 31,447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,337,214.04. The trade was a 9.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Michael D. Sicilia sold 15,880 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.48, for a total value of $4,041,142.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 99,212 shares of the company's stock, valued at $25,247,469.76. The trade was a 13.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 444,183 shares of company stock worth $86,521,198. Corporate insiders own 42.20% of the company's stock.

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.