Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Bought by Verdence Capital Advisors LLC

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 31.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 49,646 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after buying an additional 11,765 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Oracle were worth $6,941,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ORCL. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle during the first quarter worth about $27,000. Inlight Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle during the first quarter worth about $28,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Oracle by 284.9% in the 1st quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 204 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares during the period. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new position in Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. 42.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on ORCL shares. Bank of America boosted their price target on Oracle from $156.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. Roth Capital restated a "hold" rating on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $195.00 price target (up previously from $145.00) on shares of Oracle in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Raymond James Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their target price on Oracle from $140.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $218.29.

Oracle Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ORCL traded down $3.45 during trading on Friday, hitting $245.30. 9,671,806 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,336,026. Oracle Corporation has a 12-month low of $118.86 and a 12-month high of $251.60. 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 fifty day moving average price of $194.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $168.39. The company has a market cap of $689.01 billion, a PE ratio of 56.52, a P/E/G ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 1.39.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last released 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. Oracle had a return on equity of 87.34% and a net margin of 21.68%. The company had revenue of $15.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.63 earnings per share. Oracle's revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Oracle Corporation will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. Oracle's payout ratio is 46.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 17,500 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 58,090 shares in the company, valued at $8,785,531.60. The trade was a 23.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 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 transaction of $2,329,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 40,807 shares in the company, valued at $9,507,622.93. The trade was a 19.68% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 448,669 shares of company stock worth $85,555,309 in the last 90 days. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.