Oracle Corporation $ORCL Shares Sold by MetLife Investment Management LLC

Key Points

• MetLife Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in Oracle Corporation by 0.7%, ending the quarter with 490,529 shares valued at $68.6 million after selling 3,492 shares.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for Oracle with an average price target of $227.04, citing growth in earnings and revenue projections.
• Oracle recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50, yielding 0.8% annually, with a payout ratio of 46.08%.

MetLife Investment Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 0.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 490,529 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after selling 3,492 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC's holdings in Oracle were worth $68,581,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ORCL. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Oracle during the 1st quarter valued at about $732,692,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Oracle by 15,012.3% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,755,096 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $664,810,000 after purchasing an additional 4,723,631 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Oracle by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 160,925,413 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $22,498,982,000 after purchasing an additional 3,513,464 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in Oracle by 20.5% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 13,825,360 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $2,303,858,000 after purchasing an additional 2,350,448 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Oracle by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 19,620,534 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $3,269,566,000 after purchasing an additional 2,176,892 shares during the period. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ORCL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $240.00 price target (up from $200.00) on shares of Oracle in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Westpark Capital upped their price target on shares of Oracle from $195.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Oracle from $145.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Oracle in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. They issued a "sector outperform" rating and a $300.00 price target for the company. Finally, Loop Capital set a $135.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $227.04.

Oracle Stock Up 1.3%

ORCL stock opened at $236.1670 on Friday. Oracle Corporation has a 12 month low of $118.86 and a 12 month high of $260.87. The firm has a market cap of $663.35 billion, a PE ratio of 54.42, a P/E/G ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.43. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $235.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $182.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.07, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.75.

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

Oracle Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 10th. Oracle's dividend payout ratio is 46.08%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 3,303 shares of the company'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 value of $770,655.96. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 31,447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,337,214.04. This represents a 9.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Maria Smith sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.99, for a total transaction of $2,329,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 40,807 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,507,622.93. This trade represents a 19.68% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 444,183 shares of company stock worth $86,521,198 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 42.20% of the company's stock.

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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