Oracle Corporation $ORCL Shares Sold by Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC

Key Points

• Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC cut its Oracle stake by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, selling 7,222 shares and ending with 248,445 shares worth about $48.4 million.
• Oracle remains a major focus for investors ahead of its upcoming earnings, with recent coverage highlighting bullish analyst and options activity tied to strong AI and cloud growth momentum.
• At the same time, the stock faces some caution as a shareholder law firm is investigating Oracle over its AI infrastructure strategy, while investors worry heavy AI spending could pressure free cash flow and debt metrics.

Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC decreased its position in shares of Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 2.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 248,445 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after selling 7,222 shares during the quarter. Oracle comprises about 1.6% of Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC's holdings in Oracle were worth $48,424,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. HFM Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Oracle by 290.9% during the 4th quarter. HFM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 129 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Basepoint Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Oracle in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Oracle in the third quarter worth about $28,000. Joseph Group Capital Management acquired a new stake in Oracle in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Investors Research Corp lifted its holdings in Oracle by 465.5% in the fourth quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 164 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 42.44% of the company's stock.

Key Oracle News

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 Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ORCL opened at $236.51 on Friday. Oracle Corporation has a twelve month low of $134.57 and a twelve month high of $345.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.66. The company has a market capitalization of $680.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.46, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.65. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $177.88 and a two-hundred day moving average of $178.30.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $17.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.91 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.47 EPS. Oracle'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, analysts expect that Oracle Corporation will post 6.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 9th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 9th. Oracle's payout ratio is presently 35.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citizens Jmp reduced their price objective on shares of Oracle from $342.00 to $285.00 and set a "market outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $229.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Oracle from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Oracle from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Mizuho set a $320.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a report on Wednesday. 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 issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Oracle currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $264.70.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In other Oracle news, EVP Stuart Levey sold 15,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 3,429 shares in the company, valued at approximately $604,155.51. The trade was a 81.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 40.90% of the company's stock.

Oracle Company Profile

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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