Scharf Investments LLC Sells 71,120 Shares of Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL)

Scharf Investments LLC reduced its holdings in Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 7.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 841,797 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after selling 71,120 shares during the quarter. Oracle comprises 3.6% of Scharf Investments LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Scharf Investments LLC's holdings in Oracle were worth $117,692,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ORCL. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,216,314,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at about $930,095,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Oracle by 15,012.3% in the first 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 last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of Oracle by 20.5% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Oracle by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 157,411,949 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $26,231,127,000 after purchasing an additional 2,296,069 shares during the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Clayton M. Magouyrk sold 15,000 shares of the business'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 now owns 60,722 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,000,580.20. The trade was a 19.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Vice Chairman Jeffrey Henley sold 400,000 shares of the business'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 now directly owns 1,097,576 shares of the company's stock, valued at $209,000,421.92. This trade represents a 26.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 442,366 shares of company stock valued at $83,395,223. Company insiders own 42.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their target price on shares of Oracle from $214.00 to $175.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of Oracle from $140.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded shares of Oracle from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, JMP Securities set a $240.00 target price on shares of Oracle and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Oracle presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $196.74.

Oracle Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ORCL traded up $1.91 during trading on Monday, reaching $207.08. The stock had a trading volume of 13,339,777 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,854,882. Oracle Corporation has a 52 week low of $118.86 and a 52 week high of $216.60. The business's 50-day moving average price is $161.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $161.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.07, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $581.65 billion, a PE ratio of 47.71, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 1.32.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.64 by $0.06. Oracle had a net margin of 21.68% and a return on equity of 87.34%. The company had revenue of $15.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.63 earnings per share. Oracle's quarterly revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Oracle Corporation will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. Oracle's dividend payout ratio is presently 46.08%.

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.