Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Sold by Kovack Advisors Inc.

Kovack Advisors Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 8.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,021 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after selling 1,042 shares during the quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Oracle were worth $1,681,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Oracle by 71.6% during the 1st quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 257,378 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $35,984,000 after purchasing an additional 107,404 shares in the last quarter. Rockland Trust Co. increased its holdings in shares of Oracle by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 10,165 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $1,421,000 after purchasing an additional 467 shares in the last quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Oracle by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC now owns 711,290 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $99,445,000 after purchasing an additional 10,426 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Oracle by 34.1% during the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Advisory LLC now owns 12,968 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $2,258,000 after purchasing an additional 3,299 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Peak Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $211,000. 42.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Oracle Price Performance

ORCL traded up $2.22 on Friday, hitting $245.05. 7,146,126 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,472,494. Oracle Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $118.86 and a fifty-two week high of $251.60. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $202.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $171.02. The stock has a market cap of $688.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.46, a P/E/G ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 1.39.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.63 EPS. As a group, 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 was paid on Thursday, July 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.82%. Oracle's payout ratio is 46.08%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ORCL. Guggenheim lifted their target price on shares of Oracle from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Oracle in a report on Thursday, June 12th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Oracle from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. CIBC reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Nine 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $218.29.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 17,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.24, for a total transaction of $2,646,700.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 58,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,785,531.60. The trade was a 23.15% decrease in their position. The sale 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 dated Tuesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.10, for a total transaction of $3,211,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 60,722 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,000,580.20. The trade was a 19.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 448,669 shares of company stock worth $85,555,309. Insiders own 42.20% of the company's stock.

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.