Argyle Capital Management LLC Has $3.48 Million Stock Holdings in Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL)

Argyle Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 6.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,921 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after buying an additional 1,481 shares during the period. Oracle accounts for approximately 1.3% of Argyle Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Argyle Capital Management LLC's holdings in Oracle were worth $3,484,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Strategic Blueprint LLC grew its holdings in Oracle by 125.9% during the first quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 12,737 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $1,781,000 after purchasing an additional 7,098 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management lifted its position in shares of Oracle by 286.3% in the first quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 105,285 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $14,720,000 after buying an additional 78,027 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Oracle by 103.2% during the 1st quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,686 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $515,000 after acquiring an additional 1,872 shares during the period. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. grew its stake in shares of Oracle by 7.2% in the first quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 28,211 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $3,944,000 after acquiring an additional 1,903 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SMART Wealth LLC increased its position in Oracle by 31.0% during the first quarter. SMART Wealth LLC now owns 11,490 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $1,606,000 after acquiring an additional 2,716 shares during the period. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ORCL. Oppenheimer reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Roth Capital reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Evercore ISI reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Oracle in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of Oracle from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated 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. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $204.15.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Vice Chairman Jeffrey Henley sold 400,000 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.42, for a total value 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 approximately $209,000,421.92. This trade represents a 26.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,866 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.53, for a total value of $428,552.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 31,764 shares in the company, valued at $4,749,670.92. This represents a 8.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 440,366 shares of company stock valued at $83,103,603. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Oracle Trading Up 3.2%

Shares of Oracle stock traded up $7.41 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $237.39. The company had a trading volume of 18,441,376 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,140,491. The firm has a market cap of $666.79 billion, a PE ratio of 54.70, a P/E/G ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 1.39. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $176.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $163.79. 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 Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $118.86 and a fifty-two week high of $237.99.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $15.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.63 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Oracle Corporation will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

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 given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.84%. Oracle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.08%.

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.