Neuberger Berman Group LLC Grows Stock Position in Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL)

Key Points

• Neuberger Berman Group LLC increased its stake in Oracle Corporation by 18.0%, owning approximately 5.43 million shares worth about $759.79 million.
• Oracle reported a quarterly EPS of $1.70, exceeding estimates, with revenue of $15.90 billion, up 11.3% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, translating to an annual yield of 0.8% with a payout ratio of 46.08%.

Neuberger Berman Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 18.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,434,278 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after acquiring an additional 828,669 shares during the period. Oracle comprises 0.6% of Neuberger Berman Group LLC's holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Neuberger Berman Group LLC owned approximately 0.19% of Oracle worth $759,789,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle in the 1st quarter valued at about $732,692,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings 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 worth $664,810,000 after acquiring an additional 4,723,631 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Oracle by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 160,925,413 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $22,498,982,000 after acquiring an additional 3,513,464 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in shares of Oracle by 20.5% in the 4th 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 acquiring an additional 2,350,448 shares during the period. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its holdings in Oracle by 268.4% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company's stock.

Oracle Trading Up 0.3%

Oracle stock opened at $253.54 on Wednesday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $226.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $178.76. 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 12 month low of $118.86 and a 12 month high of $260.87. The stock has a market cap of $712.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.42, a P/E/G ratio of 3.77 and a beta of 1.43.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.70 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.58 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.63 EPS. Oracle's revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Oracle Corporation will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In related news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 3,303 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,337,214.04. The trade was a 9.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Clayton M. Magouyrk sold 15,000 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.10, for a total transaction of $3,211,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 60,722 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,000,580.20. The trade was a 19.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 444,183 shares of company stock worth $86,521,198 over the last 90 days. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on ORCL shares. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $221.00 price target (up previously from $202.00) on shares of Oracle in a research note on Friday, June 13th. DA Davidson increased their price target on Oracle from $140.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Oracle from $135.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Westpark Capital increased their price target on Oracle from $195.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Finally, Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $222.75.

Oracle 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.

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