Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL) is Applied Finance Capital Management LLC's 9th Largest Position

Key Points

• Applied Finance Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in Oracle Corporation by 42.2% in Q1, now holding 228,472 shares, making Oracle its 9th largest position and valued at $31.9 million.
• Insider transactions revealed that Director Leon E. Panetta sold 17,500 shares, marking a 23.15% decrease in his position, while EVP Maria Smith sold 10,000 shares, representing a 19.68% decrease.
• Several analysts have expressed positive sentiments about Oracle, with Citigroup upgrading the stock to "strong-buy" and various firms raising their price targets, reflecting strong confidence in the company’s future performance.

Applied Finance Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 42.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 228,472 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after selling 166,779 shares during the period. Oracle accounts for 2.3% of Applied Finance Capital Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC's holdings in Oracle were worth $31,943,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ORCL. Greenwood Gearhart Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Greenwood Gearhart Inc. now owns 5,731 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $955,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Stage Harbor Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Stage Harbor Financial LLC now owns 1,433 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $239,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Hurlow Wealth Management Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Hurlow Wealth Management Group Inc. now owns 4,149 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $691,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 1.7% during the first quarter. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC now owns 4,333 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $606,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Private Wealth Management Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 14.9% during the first quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 556 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $78,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In related news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.24, for a total transaction of $2,646,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 58,090 shares in the company, valued at $8,785,531.60. This represents a 23.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Maria Smith sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.99, for a total transaction of $2,329,900.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 40,807 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,507,622.93. This represents a 19.68% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 448,669 shares of company stock worth $85,555,309. Insiders own 42.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on ORCL shares. Citigroup upgraded shares of Oracle from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Oracle from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of Oracle from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Oracle from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price target for the company from $190.00 to $270.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "buy" rating and set a $240.00 price target (up previously from $200.00) on shares of Oracle in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $218.29.

Oracle Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE:ORCL opened at $245.05 on Friday. Oracle Corporation has a 52 week low of $118.86 and a 52 week high of $251.60. The company's 50 day moving average is $204.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $171.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.07. The company has a market cap of $688.31 billion, a PE ratio of 56.46, a P/E/G ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 1.39.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.64 by $0.06. Oracle had a net margin of 21.68% and a return on equity of 87.34%. The company had revenue of $15.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.63 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Oracle Corporation will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 10th. Oracle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.08%.

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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