Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL) Stock Position Lessened by World Investment Advisors

World Investment Advisors reduced its stake in shares of Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 9.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 60,909 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after selling 6,157 shares during the quarter. World Investment Advisors' holdings in Oracle were worth $8,516,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ORCL. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 157,411,949 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $26,231,127,000 after acquiring an additional 2,296,069 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 38,002,902 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $6,332,803,000 after buying an additional 156,269 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Oracle by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,814,302 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $5,954,961,000 after buying an additional 619,619 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Oracle by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 20,202,421 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $3,366,531,000 after acquiring an additional 1,722,037 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Oracle by 12.5% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In related news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,866 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.53, for a total transaction of $428,552.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 31,764 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,749,670.92. This represents a 8.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 17,500 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the director owned 58,090 shares in the company, valued at $8,785,531.60. The trade was a 23.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 440,366 shares of company stock valued at $83,103,603. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their target price on Oracle from $214.00 to $175.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "buy" rating and issued a $240.00 price target (up previously from $200.00) on shares of Oracle in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of Oracle from $140.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. JMP Securities set a $240.00 target price on Oracle and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, June 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $130.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $204.15.

Oracle Price Performance

ORCL opened at $237.39 on Friday. Oracle Corporation has a 52 week low of $118.86 and a 52 week high of $237.99. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $666.79 billion, a PE ratio of 54.70, a P/E/G ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $178.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $164.26.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.64 by $0.06. Oracle had a net margin of 21.68% and a return on equity of 87.34%. The firm had revenue of $15.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.63 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, 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 will be paid on Thursday, July 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. 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.

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