Oracle Corporation $ORCL is ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.'s Largest Position

Key Points

• ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. has increased its stake in Oracle Corporation to become its largest position, now holding 478,903 shares valued at approximately $104.7 million.
• Oracle's latest earnings report revealed a slight miss in EPS estimates at $1.47, with revenue of $14.93 billion, a 12.2% increase compared to the previous year.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50, resulting in a dividend yield of 0.7% and a payout ratio of 46.30%.

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. grew its stake in Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 1.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 478,903 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after buying an additional 7,960 shares during the period. Oracle accounts for 3.9% of ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its biggest position. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.'s holdings in Oracle were worth $104,702,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Oracle by 2.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 160,925,413 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $22,498,982,000 after acquiring an additional 3,513,464 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Oracle by 0.6% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 19,741,423 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $2,760,048,000 after acquiring an additional 120,889 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in shares of Oracle by 0.4% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 13,884,524 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $1,941,195,000 after acquiring an additional 59,164 shares during the period. Amundi grew its position in Oracle by 3.3% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 12,736,855 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $1,749,280,000 after buying an additional 409,691 shares during the period. Finally, Polen Capital Management LLC grew its position in 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 valued at $1,762,878,000 after buying an additional 1,885,370 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company's stock.

Oracle Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of NYSE ORCL opened at $286.23 on Friday. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $262.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $205.11. Oracle Corporation has a 52-week low of $118.86 and a 52-week high of $345.72. The firm has a market cap of $815.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 66.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.33.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, September 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.48 by ($0.01). Oracle had a net margin of 21.08% and a return on equity of 72.93%. The company had revenue of $14.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.39 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Oracle has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 1.270-1.310 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Oracle Corporation will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 9th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 9th. Oracle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on ORCL shares. Loop Capital set a $135.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Oracle in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Wolfe Research raised their price target on shares of Oracle from $300.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Oracle from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the company from $295.00 to $368.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have assigned a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $304.71.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In other news, insider Clayton M. Magouyrk sold 21,241 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $297.11, for a total value of $6,310,913.51. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 78,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $23,174,580. This trade represents a 21.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director William G. Parrett sold 11,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.00, for a total transaction of $3,519,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 17,764 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,435,784. This represents a 39.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 104,314 shares of company stock valued at $31,272,223. Company 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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