Oracle Corporation $ORCL Shares Sold by ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.

Key Points

• ZWJ Investment Counsel reduced its Oracle stake by 4.6% in Q4, selling 18,309 shares and ending the period with 376,140 shares worth $73.31 million (about 2.6% of its portfolio), even as large institutions like Vanguard and Jennison materially increased their positions and institutional ownership sits around 42.4%.
• Insider selling is notable: EVP Douglas Kehring sold 35,000 shares (~$194.89 avg) and CEO Clayton Magouyrk sold 10,000 shares (~$155.23 avg); coupled with reports of large layoffs and a shareholder probe, these items heighten reputational and legal headline risk.
• Company fundamentals and catalysts include an earnings beat, a $0.50 quarterly dividend, new AI product rollouts and a major Bloom Energy power pact (up to 2.8 GW) to support OCI growth, while analysts remain mixed but collectively rate Oracle a "Moderate Buy" with an average price target near $260.71.

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. decreased its position in shares of Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 4.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 376,140 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after selling 18,309 shares during the quarter. Oracle comprises about 2.6% of ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.'s holdings in Oracle were worth $73,313,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in Oracle by 2,062.4% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 9,227,252 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $2,595,072,000 after purchasing an additional 8,800,546 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Oracle by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 168,960,500 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $47,518,451,000 after purchasing an additional 4,681,626 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in Oracle by 333.7% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 5,238,006 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $1,473,137,000 after purchasing an additional 4,030,382 shares during the period. Amundi boosted its stake in Oracle by 32.9% during the 3rd quarter. Amundi now owns 9,636,090 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $2,809,609,000 after purchasing an additional 2,385,556 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in Oracle by 921.6% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 2,311,815 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $450,596,000 after purchasing an additional 2,085,514 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In other news, EVP Douglas A. Kehring sold 35,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.89, for a total value of $6,821,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 33,638 shares in the company, valued at $6,555,709.82. This represents a 50.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Clayton M. Magouyrk sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.23, for a total value of $1,552,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 134,030 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,805,476.90. This trade represents a 6.94% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 40.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings downgraded Oracle from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Citizens Jmp reduced their price objective on Oracle from $342.00 to $285.00 and set a "market outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on Oracle from $375.00 to $300.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and set a $254.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Oracle from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $230.00 to $210.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $260.71.

Key Headlines Impacting Oracle

Here are the key news stories impacting Oracle this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Large Bloom Energy power pact — Oracle agreed to secure up to 2.8 GW of Bloom fuel‑cell capacity to power AI/cloud data centers, a structural move that reduces power risk for OCI build‑outs and underpins the company’s AI infrastructure narrative. Bloom Energy to supply up to 2.8 GW of fuel cells under expanded Oracle deal
• Positive Sentiment: New AI product rollouts — Oracle announced embedded AI agents for corporate banking and additional AI upgrades across utilities and project-management suites, reinforcing recurring‑revenue upsell potential in regulated industries. Oracle Debuts AI Agents for Corporate Banking
• Positive Sentiment: Cloud expansion narrative — Oracle is tying AI software, new cloud regions and industry wins (utilities, rail) into a growth story that supports higher long‑term cloud spend and data‑center demand. Oracle Ties AI Software Cloud Expansion And Power Deals Into Growth Narrative
• Neutral Sentiment: Heavy call‑option buying — Unusually large call volume (near 495k contracts) signals speculative bullish positioning that can amplify short‑term moves but adds volatility. (Market reports 4/14–4/15)
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation debate — Some outlets argue ORCL is attractively discounted vs. growth prospects; others warn the stock still looks like “dead money.” Mixed analyst views mean price action will hinge on execution and guidance. Should You Chase the Rally in Oracle Stock?
• Negative Sentiment: Shareholder/legal risk — A law firm says it is investigating possible fiduciary breaches by Oracle’s directors/officers, a headline risk that could weigh on sentiment if it progresses. Lowey Dannenberg P.C. Investigates Oracle Corporation for Breaches of Fiduciary Duties
• Negative Sentiment: Layoffs and optics — Continued reports about large layoffs and worker complaints (and notable insider share sales) create reputational and execution risks that investors should monitor if they signal longer‑term weakness or morale issues. Oracle accused of targeting employees with stock options in recent layoffs

Oracle Trading Up 4.8%

Shares of NYSE:ORCL opened at $163.04 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $468.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.60. 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 Corporation has a twelve month low of $121.24 and a twelve month high of $345.72. The company has a 50 day moving average of $150.16 and a 200-day moving average of $198.11.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.71 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $17.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.91 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 62.70% and a net margin of 25.30%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 21.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.47 earnings per share. Oracle has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 1.960-2.000 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Oracle Corporation will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 9th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 9th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Oracle's dividend payout ratio is 35.91%.

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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