Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL) Stock Position Reduced by Bessemer Group Inc.

Bessemer Group Inc. decreased its stake in Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 36.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,609,254 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after selling 924,502 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. owned approximately 0.06% of Oracle worth $224,989,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ORCL. Inlight Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Oracle during the first quarter valued at $28,000. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new position in Oracle in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Oracle during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company's stock.

Oracle Stock Performance

NYSE ORCL opened at $215.39 on Wednesday. Oracle Corporation has a twelve month low of $118.86 and a twelve month high of $216.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.07. The stock has a market cap of $604.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.63, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.32. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $163.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $161.64.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. Oracle had a return on equity of 87.34% and a net margin of 21.68%. The company had revenue of $15.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.63 EPS. The company's revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Oracle Corporation will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.93%. Oracle's payout ratio is presently 46.08%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on ORCL. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 9th. JMP Securities set a $240.00 price objective on shares of Oracle and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, June 12th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Oracle from $150.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, June 12th. CIBC reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Oracle in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Loop Capital set a $135.00 price objective on Oracle in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $196.74.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.77, for a total transaction of $648,850.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 58,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,538,339.30. This represents a 7.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.81, for a total value of $291,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 34,630 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,049,400.30. This represents a 5.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 442,366 shares of company stock worth $83,395,223. Corporate insiders own 42.20% of the company's stock.

Oracle 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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