Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL) Position Lessened by Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI

Key Points

• Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI reduced its stake in Oracle Corporation by 1.5% in Q1, now holding 187,662 shares valued at approximately $26.2 million.
• GAMMA Investing LLC significantly increased its holdings in Oracle by 15,012.3%, owning 4,755,096 shares worth about $664.8 million after acquiring 4,723,631 additional shares.
• Insider trading activity includes Vice Chairman Jeffrey Henley selling 400,000 shares for over $76 million, while other insiders have also reduced their holdings recently.

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI cut its position in Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 1.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 187,662 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after selling 2,828 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI's holdings in Oracle were worth $26,237,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Oracle during the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Inlight Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle in the first quarter worth about $28,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Oracle by 284.9% in the first quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 204 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new position in Oracle during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Oracle Trading Up 0.3%

ORCL stock traded up $0.85 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $256.52. The stock had a trading volume of 9,919,562 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,380,186. The company's 50-day moving average price is $217.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $176.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.07, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.75. The firm has a market cap of $720.51 billion, a PE ratio of 59.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 1.43. Oracle Corporation has a 12-month low of $118.86 and a 12-month high of $260.87.

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 for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.63 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict 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 issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. 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 currently 46.08%.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In other news, Vice Chairman Jeffrey Henley sold 400,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 1,097,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $209,000,421.92. This represents a 26.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Rona Alison Fairhead acquired 480 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 7th. The shares were bought at an average price of $233.87 per share, for a total transaction of $112,257.60. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 22,110 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,170,865.70. This represents a 2.22% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 428,303 shares of company stock worth $82,480,056 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 42.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler raised Oracle from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $190.00 to $270.00 in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Oracle from $215.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Oracle from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating and set a $221.00 target price (up from $202.00) on shares of Oracle in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Nine research 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $222.75.

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.