Lifeworks Advisors LLC Purchases 2,786 Shares of Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL)

Lifeworks Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 9.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 31,460 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after acquiring an additional 2,786 shares during the period. Lifeworks Advisors LLC's holdings in Oracle were worth $4,398,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ORCL. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. grew its position in Oracle by 71.6% in the 1st quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 257,378 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $35,984,000 after purchasing an additional 107,404 shares in the last quarter. Rockland Trust Co. grew its position in Oracle by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 10,165 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $1,421,000 after purchasing an additional 467 shares in the last quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC grew its position in Oracle by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC now owns 711,290 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $99,445,000 after purchasing an additional 10,426 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Advisory LLC grew its position in Oracle by 34.1% in the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Advisory LLC now owns 12,968 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $2,258,000 after purchasing an additional 3,299 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Peak Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new stake in Oracle in the 4th quarter worth about $211,000. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Oracle Price Performance

Shares of Oracle stock traded up $0.74 on Thursday, hitting $242.64. 8,229,157 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,587,158. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $202.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $171.02. 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 $681.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.91, a P/E/G ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 1.39. Oracle Corporation has a 12-month low of $118.86 and a 12-month high of $251.60.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last released its 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 company had revenue of $15.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.63 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. Oracle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.08%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ORCL. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Oracle from $210.00 to $180.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. JMP Securities raised their price target on shares of Oracle from $240.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Oracle from $135.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Nine equities research 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 company. According to MarketBeat, Oracle currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $218.29.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Maria Smith sold 10,000 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 40,807 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,507,622.93. This trade represents a 19.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Rona Alison Fairhead purchased 480 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $233.87 per share, with a total value of $112,257.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 22,110 shares in the company, valued at $5,170,865.70. This trade represents a 2.22% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 448,669 shares of company stock worth $85,555,309. 42.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Oracle Company 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.