Jennison Associates LLC Decreases Holdings in Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL)

Jennison Associates LLC lessened its position in Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 61.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 470,518 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after selling 740,227 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC's holdings in Oracle were worth $65,783,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ORCL. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in Oracle by 189.3% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 153,580 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $25,593,000 after acquiring an additional 100,494 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Oracle by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,418 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $903,000 after purchasing an additional 404 shares during the period. Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter valued at $394,000. Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC increased its stake in Oracle by 20.0% in the 4th quarter. Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC now owns 7,750 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $1,291,000 after acquiring an additional 1,289 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DCF Advisers LLC raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 25.9% in the 4th quarter. DCF Advisers LLC now owns 36,500 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $6,082,000 after acquiring an additional 7,500 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company's stock.

Oracle Stock Performance

Oracle stock traded down $3.45 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $245.30. 9,671,806 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,370,432. The firm has a market capitalization of $689.01 billion, a PE ratio of 56.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 1.39. Oracle Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $118.86 and a fifty-two week high of $251.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.07, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.75. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $196.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $168.95.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $15.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.58 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 87.34% and a net margin of 21.68%. Oracle's quarterly revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.63 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Oracle Corporation will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.82%. Oracle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.08%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Maria Smith sold 10,000 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Rona Alison Fairhead acquired 480 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 7th. The stock was 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 position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 448,669 shares of company stock valued at $85,555,309. Insiders own 42.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on ORCL shares. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Oracle from $210.00 to $180.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $195.00 price target (up from $145.00) on shares of Oracle in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Roth Capital reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Finally, CIBC restated a "buy" rating on shares of Oracle in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.