Rathbones Group PLC Acquires 1,179 Shares of Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL)

Key Points

• Rathbones Group PLC increased its stake in Oracle Corporation by 5.2%, now holding 23,766 shares worth approximately $3.32 million after acquiring an additional 1,179 shares.
• Insider transactions revealed that Oracle executives, including Michael D. Sicilia, sold significant amounts of stock, with total insider sales reaching $86.52 million over the last ninety days.
• Oracle reported a quarterly EPS of $1.70, surpassing expectations, and had a revenue increase of 11.3% year-over-year, totaling $15.90 billion.

Rathbones Group PLC lifted its stake in shares of Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 5.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,766 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,179 shares during the period. Rathbones Group PLC's holdings in Oracle were worth $3,323,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ORCL. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Oracle by 2.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 160,925,413 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $22,498,982,000 after acquiring an additional 3,513,464 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Oracle by 12.5% in the fourth 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. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $2,303,858,000 after buying an additional 2,350,448 shares during the period. Polen Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 17.6% during the 1st quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC now owns 12,609,101 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $1,762,878,000 after buying an additional 1,885,370 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,975,191 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $1,534,624,000 after buying an additional 94,236 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 42.44% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 3,303 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.32, for a total value of $770,655.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 31,447 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,337,214.04. The trade was a 9.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Clayton M. Magouyrk sold 15,000 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 17th. The stock was 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 directly owned 60,722 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,000,580.20. This represents a 19.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 444,183 shares of company stock valued at $86,521,198. Insiders own 42.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on ORCL shares. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Oracle from $275.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Oracle from $145.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Oracle from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Oracle in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Oracle from $215.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $222.75.

Oracle Price Performance

Shares of ORCL traded up $0.71 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $244.89. 10,274,959 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 12,014,424. Oracle Corporation has a one year low of $118.86 and a one year high of $260.87. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $227.58 and a 200-day moving average of $179.21. The firm has a market cap of $687.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.43, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.43. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.64 by $0.06. Oracle had a return on equity of 87.34% and a net margin of 21.68%. The company had revenue of $15.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.63 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Oracle Corporation will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

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

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.