Oracle Corporation $ORCL Shares Sold by Longview Partners Guernsey LTD

Key Points

• Longview Partners Guernsey LTD reduced its stake in Oracle Corporation by 5.9%, selling 246,400 shares to hold approximately 3.9 million shares, which represent 4.4% of its investment portfolio.
• Insider transactions included Vice Chairman Jeffrey Henley selling 400,000 shares for around $76.17 million, leading to a 26.71% decrease in his ownership position.
• Oracle's quarterly earnings report showed an EPS of $1.70, exceeding estimates, and a revenue of $15.90 billion, marking an 11.3% year-over-year increase.

Longview Partners Guernsey LTD reduced its stake in Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 5.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,946,361 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after selling 246,400 shares during the period. Oracle accounts for about 4.4% of Longview Partners Guernsey LTD's investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Longview Partners Guernsey LTD owned about 0.14% of Oracle worth $551,741,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Oracle during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Inlight Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Oracle during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 284.9% during the first quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 204 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Oracle news, Vice Chairman Jeffrey Henley sold 400,000 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.42, for a total transaction of $76,168,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,097,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $209,000,421.92. The trade was a 26.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 3,303 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.32, for a total transaction of $770,655.96. Following the transaction, the director owned 31,447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,337,214.04. The trade was a 9.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 444,183 shares of company stock worth $86,521,198. 42.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Oracle Price Performance

NYSE ORCL opened at $235.48 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $661.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.26, a P/E/G ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.43. Oracle Corporation has a 1 year low of $118.86 and a 1 year high of $260.87. The business's fifty day moving average is $235.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $183.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.07, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.75.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.64 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $15.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.58 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 87.34% and a net margin of 21.68%.The firm's revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.63 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Oracle Corporation will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were given 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, July 10th. Oracle's payout ratio is presently 46.08%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ORCL. Roth Capital reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Oracle in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Guggenheim lifted their price target on Oracle from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $195.00 price target (up previously from $145.00) on shares of Oracle in a report on Friday, June 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Oracle from $145.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, June 12th. Finally, Citigroup raised Oracle from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $227.04.

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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