University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. Purchases 2,523 Shares of Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL)

Key Points

• The University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. increased its stake in Oracle Corporation by 112.0%, owning 4,775 shares valued at approximately $668,000 at the end of the first quarter.
• Insider activity saw Vice Chairman Jeffrey Henley sell 400,000 shares for about $76.17 million, representing a significant decrease in his holdings.
• Oracle recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, with an annualized yield of 0.82% and a payout ratio of 46.08%.

University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. grew its holdings in Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 112.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,775 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,523 shares during the quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co.'s holdings in Oracle were worth $668,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ORCL. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Oracle by 15,012.3% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,755,096 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $664,810,000 after purchasing an additional 4,723,631 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in Oracle by 20.5% in the fourth 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 acquiring an additional 2,350,448 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its stake in Oracle by 268.4% in the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 3,077,947 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $512,909,000 after acquiring an additional 2,242,520 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Oracle by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 19,620,534 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $3,269,566,000 after acquiring an additional 2,176,892 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Oracle by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 20,202,421 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $3,366,531,000 after purchasing an additional 1,722,037 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 42.44% of the company's stock.

Oracle Price Performance

Shares of Oracle stock traded up $6.75 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $257.35. 9,550,435 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 12,065,897. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $209.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $173.44. The stock has a market cap of $722.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.30, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 1.39. Oracle Corporation has a 12 month low of $118.86 and a 12 month high of $260.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.07, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.75.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.64 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $15.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.58 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 21.68% and a return on equity of 87.34%. The company's revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.63 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Oracle Corporation will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 10th. Oracle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.08%.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In other Oracle news, Vice Chairman Jeffrey Henley sold 400,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.42, for a total transaction of $76,168,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 1,097,576 shares of the company's stock, valued at $209,000,421.92. The trade was a 26.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Clayton M. Magouyrk sold 15,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.10, for a total transaction of $3,211,500.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 60,722 shares in the company, valued at $13,000,580.20. The trade was a 19.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 448,669 shares of company stock valued at $85,555,309. Corporate insiders own 42.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on ORCL shares. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Oracle from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Oracle from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $195.00 price target (up previously from $145.00) on shares of Oracle in a research report on Friday, June 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Oracle from $135.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. Finally, JMP Securities increased their target price on shares of Oracle from $240.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Oracle presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $218.29.

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.