Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL) is Polen Capital Management LLC's 4th Largest Position

Key Points

• Polen Capital Management increased its stake in Oracle Corporation by 17.6% during the first quarter, now holding approximately $1.76 billion worth of stock.
• Insider trading activity revealed that key executives sold significant shares, with a total of 444,183 shares worth approximately $86.5 million over the last ninety days.
• Oracle's latest earnings report showed a quarterly EPS of $1.70, exceeding estimates, with revenue of $15.90 billion, marking an 11.3% year-over-year increase.

Polen Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 17.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,609,101 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,885,370 shares during the period. Oracle accounts for 5.5% of Polen Capital Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Polen Capital Management LLC owned about 0.45% of Oracle worth $1,762,878,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in Oracle by 189.3% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 153,580 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $25,593,000 after purchasing an additional 100,494 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in Oracle by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,418 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $903,000 after purchasing an additional 404 shares during the last quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC increased its position in Oracle by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,843 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $307,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Prepared Retirement Institute LLC increased its position in Oracle by 8.3% during the fourth quarter. Prepared Retirement Institute LLC now owns 1,950 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $325,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oak Associates Ltd. OH increased its position in Oracle by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Oak Associates Ltd. OH now owns 281,234 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $46,865,000 after purchasing an additional 1,720 shares during the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on ORCL shares. Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Oracle in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. They set a "sector outperform" rating and a $300.00 price objective for the company. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Oracle from $275.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $195.00 price objective (up from $145.00) on shares of Oracle in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Loop Capital set a $135.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $222.75.

Oracle Stock Up 0.3%

NYSE ORCL traded up $0.65 on Friday, hitting $250.04. 8,301,832 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,356,510. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $222.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $177.81. Oracle Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $118.86 and a fifty-two week high of $260.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.07. The company has a market cap of $702.32 billion, a PE ratio of 57.61, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 1.43.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last issued its 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. Oracle had a net margin of 21.68% and a return on equity of 87.34%. The business had revenue of $15.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.63 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Oracle Corporation will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Clayton M. Magouyrk sold 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.10, for a total value of $3,211,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 60,722 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,000,580.20. This represents a 19.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Vice Chairman Jeffrey Henley sold 400,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 1,097,576 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $209,000,421.92. The trade was a 26.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 444,183 shares of company stock worth $86,521,198. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.