Oracle Corporation $ORCL Shares Bought by Prudential PLC

Key Points

• Prudential PLC increased its Oracle stake by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, buying 5,982 more shares and bringing its total holdings to 230,633 shares valued at about $44.95 million.
• Oracle continues to draw broad institutional and analyst support, with 42.44% of the stock owned by hedge funds and other institutions and a consensus analyst rating of “Moderate Buy.” UBS recently raised its price target to $285, while Guggenheim has a $400 target.
• The company remains in focus ahead of earnings, with recent news highlighting AI-driven growth optimism but also concerns about heavy AI spending, cash flow pressure, and a shareholder law firm’s investigation into related risks.

Prudential PLC grew its position in shares of Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 230,633 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after purchasing an additional 5,982 shares during the period. Prudential PLC's holdings in Oracle were worth $44,953,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Oracle in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC increased its position in shares of Oracle by 76.9% during the third quarter. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 115 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Turning Point Benefit Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Oracle in the third quarter worth about $35,000. HFM Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Oracle by 290.9% in the fourth quarter. HFM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 129 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Basepoint Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Oracle during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on ORCL shares. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Oracle from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. Monness Crespi & Hardt reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Oracle in a report on Tuesday. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $229.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and set a $400.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a report on Friday, March 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have issued a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $264.70.

Trending Headlines about Oracle

Here are the key news stories impacting Oracle this week:

• Positive Sentiment: UBS raised its price target on Oracle to $285, saying AI momentum could remain strong into the upcoming earnings report. Veteran Bank Revamps Oracle Price Target Ahead of Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Options traders are showing bullish interest in Oracle before earnings, which can signal expectations for continued strength or a post-earnings move higher. Options Bulls Target Oracle Stock Before Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Several recent pieces continue to frame Oracle as a beneficiary of the AI infrastructure buildout, with investors still optimistic about its OpenAI-related momentum and cloud growth story. Why Oracle Stock Zoomed 39.9% Higher in May
• Neutral Sentiment: Oracle remains a widely watched name ahead of its June 10 fiscal Q4 results, with analysts expecting continued revenue and EPS growth but also noting that expectations are already high. Oracle (ORCL) Earnings Expected to Grow: What to Know Ahead of Next Week's Release
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader market commentary on AI spending, including warnings that the sector may be entering a more “rational” phase, adds uncertainty for Oracle because its valuation is increasingly tied to AI capex growth. AI Spending Has Been Huge. Now It Could Be Entering a 'Rational' Phase.
• Negative Sentiment: A shareholder law firm said it is investigating Oracle over whether management misrepresented the costs and risks of its AI infrastructure strategy, which could add legal overhang for the stock. Kuehn Law Encourages Investors of Oracle Corporation to Contact Law Firm
• Negative Sentiment: Oracle has also been slipping ahead of earnings as investors worry that heavy AI spending could pressure free cash flow, debt, and credit metrics if growth does not accelerate fast enough. Oracle Slips Ahead of Earnings as Investors Watch AI Growth

Oracle Stock Performance

ORCL stock opened at $236.51 on Friday. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $177.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $178.30. Oracle Corporation has a 12-month low of $134.57 and a 12-month high of $345.72. The firm has a market cap of $680.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.66.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.79 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.71 by $0.08. Oracle had a net margin of 25.30% and a return on equity of 62.70%. The firm had revenue of $17.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.47 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 21.7% on a year-over-year basis. Oracle has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 1.960-2.000 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Oracle Corporation will post 6.08 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 9th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 9th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Oracle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Stuart Levey sold 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.19, for a total transaction of $2,642,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 3,429 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $604,155.51. This represents a 81.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 40.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Oracle

Oracle Corporation is a multinational technology company that develops and sells database software, cloud engineered systems, enterprise software applications and related services. The company is widely known for its flagship Oracle Database and a portfolio of enterprise-grade software products that support data management, application development, analytics and middleware. Over recent years Oracle has expanded its focus to include cloud infrastructure and cloud applications, positioning itself as a provider of both platform and software-as-a-service solutions for large organizations.

Oracle's product and service offerings include Oracle Database and the Autonomous Database, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI), enterprise resource planning (ERP), human capital management (HCM) and supply chain management (SCM) cloud applications (often grouped under Oracle Fusion Cloud Applications), middleware such as WebLogic, and developer technologies including Java and MySQL.

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