Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Acquired by Close Asset Management Ltd

Close Asset Management Ltd increased its stake in Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 40.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,577 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after purchasing an additional 6,527 shares during the period. Close Asset Management Ltd's holdings in Oracle were worth $3,157,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Granite Group Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Oracle by 28.3% during the 1st quarter. Granite Group Advisors LLC now owns 2,726 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $381,000 after purchasing an additional 601 shares during the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new position in Oracle during the 1st quarter worth $518,000. Gratus Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Oracle during the 1st quarter worth $1,041,000. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Oracle by 9.3% in the 1st quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. now owns 8,755 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $1,224,000 after purchasing an additional 748 shares during the period. Finally, Old Port Advisors lifted its stake in shares of Oracle by 28.0% in the 1st quarter. Old Port Advisors now owns 4,401 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $615,000 after purchasing an additional 964 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 42.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Vice Chairman Jeffrey Henley sold 400,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.42, for a total transaction of $76,168,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,097,576 shares of the company's stock, valued at $209,000,421.92. This trade represents a 26.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 17,500 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.24, for a total value of $2,646,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 58,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,785,531.60. This trade represents a 23.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 448,669 shares of company stock worth $85,555,309 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 42.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ORCL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Oracle from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $180.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Monday, June 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $195.00 price objective (up previously from $145.00) on shares of Oracle in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Oracle from $210.00 to $180.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of Oracle from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Oracle from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $190.00 to $270.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Nine equities 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Oracle currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $218.29.

Oracle Stock Performance

Shares of Oracle stock opened at $238.37 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $669.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.63 and a beta of 1.39. The stock's 50-day moving average is $196.21 and its 200-day moving average is $168.97. Oracle Corporation has a one year low of $118.86 and a one year high of $251.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.07, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.75.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last released 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 for 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 was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.63 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Oracle Corporation will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. Oracle's payout ratio is 46.08%.

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.

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