Oracle Corporation $ORCL Shares Sold by Evergreen Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Evergreen Capital Management reduced its stake in Oracle Corporation by 15.8%, selling 16,480 shares, resulting in ownership of 87,802 shares valued at $12.27 million.
• Analysts are optimistic about Oracle, with multiple research firms raising their price targets significantly and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."
• Oracle recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, amounting to an annual yield of 0.8%, with a 46.08% payout ratio.

Evergreen Capital Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 15.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 87,802 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after selling 16,480 shares during the period. Evergreen Capital Management LLC's holdings in Oracle were worth $12,276,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in shares of Oracle by 12.2% in the first quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 4,126,679 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $576,952,000 after purchasing an additional 447,522 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its stake in shares of Oracle by 31.2% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,359,976 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $190,138,000 after purchasing an additional 323,203 shares during the period. WPG Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Oracle in the first quarter valued at approximately $167,000. Trexquant Investment LP purchased a new position in shares of Oracle in the first quarter valued at approximately $3,204,000. Finally, Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management boosted its stake in shares of Oracle by 15.1% in the first quarter. Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management now owns 64,136 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $8,967,000 after purchasing an additional 8,409 shares during the period. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on ORCL. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Citigroup raised shares of Oracle from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Roth Capital reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Oracle from $215.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Oracle from $275.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Oracle presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $227.04.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In other Oracle news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 3,303 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.32, for a total transaction of $770,655.96. Following the sale, the director owned 31,447 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,337,214.04. This trade represents a 9.51% 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 this link. Also, insider Michael D. Sicilia sold 15,880 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.48, for a total transaction of $4,041,142.40. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 99,212 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,247,469.76. The trade was a 13.80% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 444,183 shares of company stock valued at $86,521,198 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 42.20% of the company's stock.

Oracle Stock Up 1.9%

ORCL stock opened at $240.19 on Friday. 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 twelve month low of $118.86 and a twelve month high of $260.87. The company's 50 day moving average is $237.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $184.51. The stock has a market cap of $674.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.34, a PEG ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.43.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.64 by $0.06. Oracle had a net margin of 21.68% and a return on equity of 87.34%. The company had revenue of $15.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.63 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Oracle Corporation will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Oracle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.08%.

About Oracle

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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