Castellan Group Purchases 18,370 Shares of Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL)

Key Points

• Castellan Group increased its stake in Oracle Corporation by 129.1% during the first quarter, now owning 32,604 shares worth approximately $4.56 million.
• Oracle's recent earnings report showed $1.70 earnings per share, surpassing estimates, with revenue increasing by 11.3% year-over-year.
• Oracle announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, reflecting an annualized dividend of $2.00 and a yield of 0.8%.

Castellan Group raised its position in shares of Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 129.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 32,604 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after purchasing an additional 18,370 shares during the period. Castellan Group's holdings in Oracle were worth $4,558,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Oracle by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 38,002,902 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $6,332,803,000 after acquiring an additional 156,269 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Oracle by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 19,620,534 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $3,269,566,000 after buying an additional 2,176,892 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in Oracle by 20.5% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 13,825,360 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $2,303,858,000 after buying an additional 2,350,448 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Oracle by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,046,273 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $1,340,830,000 after buying an additional 335,352 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG grew its holdings in Oracle by 9.4% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 6,821,083 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $1,136,665,000 after buying an additional 585,560 shares during the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on ORCL. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Oracle in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 9th. JMP Securities raised their target price on Oracle from $240.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Piper Sandler raised Oracle from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their target price for the company from $190.00 to $270.00 in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, CIBC reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Oracle in a report on Monday, June 9th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Oracle has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $218.29.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In other Oracle news, EVP Maria Smith sold 10,000 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.99, for a total value of $2,329,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 40,807 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,507,622.93. The trade was a 19.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 3,303 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.32, for a total value of $770,655.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 31,447 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,337,214.04. The trade was a 9.51% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 431,169 shares of company stock worth $82,908,609. 42.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Oracle Price Performance

ORCL stock traded down $9.33 during trading on Friday, hitting $244.44. The company had a trading volume of 12,500,927 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,602,974. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $213.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $174.74. 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 $686.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.32, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.43. Oracle Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $118.86 and a fifty-two week high of $260.87.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $15.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.63 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Oracle Corporation will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Oracle's payout ratio is presently 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.