DnB Asset Management AS Increases Stake in Oracle Corporation $ORCL

Key Points

• DnB Asset Management AS has significantly increased its stake in Oracle Corporation by 576.1%, making it the 9th largest position in their portfolio with over 2.18 million shares valued at approximately $305.8 million.
• Oracle's latest earnings report showed earnings per share of $1.70, exceeding analysts' expectations, as the company reported revenues of $15.90 billion, reflecting an 11.3% year-over-year increase.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, translating to an annualized dividend of $2.00 and a yield of 0.9%, with a payout ratio of 46.08%.

DnB Asset Management AS boosted its holdings in Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 576.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,187,306 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,863,807 shares during the period. Oracle comprises about 1.4% of DnB Asset Management AS's portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. DnB Asset Management AS owned 0.08% of Oracle worth $305,807,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Oracle by 189.3% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 153,580 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $25,593,000 after acquiring an additional 100,494 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in Oracle by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,418 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $903,000 after acquiring an additional 404 shares during the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at $2,550,000. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in Oracle by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 427,885 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $71,303,000 after acquiring an additional 20,816 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Select Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at $454,000. Institutional investors own 42.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ORCL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $195.00 price target (up previously from $145.00) on shares of Oracle in a research note on Friday, June 13th. DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of Oracle from $140.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Oracle from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of Oracle from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $227.04.

Oracle Price Performance

ORCL stock traded up $9.87 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $232.87. The stock had a trading volume of 15,362,371 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,682,923. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.07. Oracle Corporation has a 52 week low of $118.86 and a 52 week high of $260.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $654.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.66, a P/E/G ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.46. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $239.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $186.62.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last released 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.58 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.63 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Oracle Corporation will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 10th. Oracle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.08%.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In other Oracle news, insider Michael D. Sicilia sold 15,880 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.48, for a total value of $4,041,142.40. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 99,212 shares of the company's stock, valued at $25,247,469.76. This trade represents a 13.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 3,303 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.32, for a total transaction of $770,655.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 31,447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,337,214.04. This represents a 9.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 444,183 shares of company stock worth $86,521,198. Corporate 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.