Sienna Gestion Sells 2,177 Shares of Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL)

Key Points

• Sienna Gestion reduced its holdings in Oracle Corporation by 5.6% in the first quarter, owning 36,738 shares worth nearly $5 million after selling 2,177 shares.
• Several analysts have recently increased their price targets for Oracle, with UBS raising it to $280 and JMP Securities to $315, indicating a generally positive outlook on the stock.
• Oracle declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, leading to an annualized yield of 0.8%, as of the latest announcement.

Sienna Gestion lessened its holdings in shares of Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 5.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 36,738 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after selling 2,177 shares during the quarter. Sienna Gestion's holdings in Oracle were worth $4,993,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Oracle by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 160,925,413 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $22,498,982,000 after buying an additional 3,513,464 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Oracle by 12.5% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 19,620,534 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $3,269,566,000 after purchasing an additional 2,176,892 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of Oracle by 20.5% during 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 worth $2,303,858,000 after purchasing an additional 2,350,448 shares during the period. Polen Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Oracle by 17.6% during the first quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC now owns 12,609,101 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $1,762,878,000 after purchasing an additional 1,885,370 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Oracle by 0.9% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,975,191 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $1,534,624,000 after purchasing an additional 94,236 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In related news, insider Michael D. Sicilia sold 15,880 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.48, for a total transaction of $4,041,142.40. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 99,212 shares in the company, valued at $25,247,469.76. This represents a 13.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Maria Smith sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 40,807 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,507,622.93. This trade represents a 19.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 444,183 shares of company stock worth $86,521,198 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 42.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Oracle in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Oracle from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $180.00 to $250.00 in a report on Monday, June 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $240.00 price target (up previously from $200.00) on shares of Oracle in a report on Thursday, June 12th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Oracle from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Oracle from $145.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, June 12th. Nine investment 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 MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $227.04.

Oracle Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ORCL traded up $3.52 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $248.48. 11,535,891 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,821,110. Oracle Corporation has a 1-year low of $118.86 and a 1-year high of $260.87. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $697.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.25, a PEG ratio of 3.71 and a beta of 1.43. The company's 50-day moving average price is $230.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $180.52.

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

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Oracle's dividend payout ratio is 46.08%.

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.