Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 309,832 Shares of Oracle Corporation $ORCL

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group reduced its Oracle stake by 12.6% in the first quarter, selling 309,832 shares and leaving it with 2,158,816 shares worth about $317.6 million.
• Oracle reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $2.11 versus $1.96 expected and revenue of $19.18 billion, up 20.6% year over year. The company also issued FY 2027 guidance and remains a major institutional holding.
• Wall Street sentiment remains positive, with several firms raising price targets; Oracle’s consensus rating is Moderate Buy and the average target price is $268.27. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, payable July 24.

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its position in shares of Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 12.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,158,816 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after selling 309,832 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.08% of Oracle worth $317,583,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC lifted its position in Oracle by 10.0% in the first quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 31,969 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $4,703,000 after purchasing an additional 2,907 shares during the period. Gratus Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Oracle by 28.7% in the 1st quarter. Gratus Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,566 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $1,554,000 after buying an additional 2,354 shares during the period. Uptick Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Oracle by 35.6% in the 1st quarter. Uptick Partners LLC now owns 2,762 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $406,000 after buying an additional 725 shares in the last quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB raised its stake in shares of Oracle by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 155,318 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $22,849,000 after buying an additional 5,643 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Applied Finance Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 31.5% during the 1st quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC now owns 155,918 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $22,937,000 after acquiring an additional 37,323 shares during the period. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Oracle Stock Performance

NYSE:ORCL opened at $127.96 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $368.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21. Oracle Corporation has a 1 year low of $127.60 and a 1 year high of $345.72. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $181.33 and a 200-day moving average of $170.74.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $2.11 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.15. Oracle had a return on equity of 58.62% and a net margin of 25.37%.The business had revenue of $19.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.10 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.70 EPS. Oracle's revenue for the quarter was up 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. Oracle has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 1.720-1.760 EPS and its FY 2027 guidance at 8.050-8.050 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Oracle Corporation will post 6.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 10th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 10th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Oracle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on ORCL shares. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Oracle from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Oracle from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $245.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their target price on Oracle from $235.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have given a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Oracle currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $268.27.

Oracle News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Oracle this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Oracle introduced a new AI-native builder for Fusion Applications, combining no-code and pro-code tools to help customers and developers create and run agentic applications inside Oracle Fusion Cloud. Oracle Introduces AI-Native Builder Experience to Create and Run Agentic Applications in Oracle Fusion Applications
• Positive Sentiment: Oracle also announced additional OPERA Cloud Central integrations for Loews Hotels and a retail pricing optimization win with Bealls, showing continued traction across hospitality and retail customers. Oracle OPERA Cloud Central Implements Additional Systems to Further Loews Hotels Delivery of Exceptional Guest Experiences Retailer Bealls Inc. Increases Clearance Sales Dollars by 25% With Oracle
• Neutral Sentiment: Oracle is due to pay its quarterly dividend next week, which supports income-oriented investors but is unlikely to change the stock’s near-term direction by itself. Oracle to pay dividends next week; Here's how much 100 ORCL shares will earn

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In related news, EVP Stuart Levey sold 15,000 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.19, for a total value of $2,642,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 3,429 shares of the company's stock, valued at $604,155.51. The trade was a 81.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Vice Chairman Jeffrey Henley sold 400,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.16, for a total transaction of $63,664,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 400,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $63,664,000. This trade represents a 50.00% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 40.90% of the company's stock.

Oracle Profile

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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