Sigma Planning Corp Acquires 6,511 Shares of Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL)

Sigma Planning Corp increased its stake in shares of Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 21.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 36,346 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after acquiring an additional 6,511 shares during the period. Sigma Planning Corp's holdings in Oracle were worth $5,082,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ORCL. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 157,411,949 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $26,231,127,000 after buying an additional 2,296,069 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in Oracle by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 38,002,902 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $6,332,803,000 after acquiring an additional 156,269 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Oracle by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,814,302 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $5,954,961,000 after purchasing an additional 619,619 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Oracle by 9.3% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 20,202,421 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $3,366,531,000 after purchasing an additional 1,722,037 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Oracle by 12.5% in the 4th 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. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on ORCL shares. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Oracle from $156.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Oracle from $215.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Oracle from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $211.37.

Oracle Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ORCL traded down $1.31 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $229.25. The company's stock had a trading volume of 11,324,808 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,311,750. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $187.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $166.42. The company has a market capitalization of $643.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.82, a P/E/G ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 1.39. 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 Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $118.86 and a fifty-two week high of $241.44.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.70 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $15.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.63 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Oracle Corporation will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. Oracle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.08%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Maria Smith sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.99, for a total transaction of $2,329,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 40,807 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,507,622.93. This represents a 19.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 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 sale, the insider owned 60,722 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,000,580.20. The trade was a 19.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 445,366 shares of company stock worth $84,784,653. 42.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Oracle Company 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.