Oracle Corporation $ORCL Holdings Cut by SRN Advisors LLC

Key Points

• SRN Advisors LLC has reduced its stake in Oracle Corporation by 34.3%, now holding 6,135 shares valued at approximately $858,000.
• Numerous institutional investors are adjusting their positions in Oracle, with Vanguard Group increasing its holdings by 2.2% to over 160 million shares valued at around $22.5 billion.
• Analyst ratings for Oracle are largely positive, with an average target price of $227.04 and three analysts giving it a Strong Buy rating.

SRN Advisors LLC lessened its stake in Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 34.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,135 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after selling 3,202 shares during the quarter. SRN Advisors LLC's holdings in Oracle were worth $858,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Activest Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Oracle by 316.5% in the 1st quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 1,341 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $188,000 after purchasing an additional 1,019 shares in the last quarter. Kodai Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Oracle during the first quarter worth about $42,832,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in Oracle by 12.2% during the first quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 4,126,679 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $576,952,000 after acquiring an additional 447,522 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its stake in Oracle by 31.2% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,359,976 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $190,138,000 after acquiring an additional 323,203 shares during the period. Finally, WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Oracle during the first quarter worth about $167,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company's stock.

Oracle Price Performance

Shares of Oracle stock traded down $14.35 on Friday, hitting $225.97. The company had a trading volume of 16,606,479 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,284,459. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $237.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $185.01. 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 company has a market cap of $634.72 billion, a PE ratio of 52.07, a PEG ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 1.46. Oracle Corporation has a 52 week low of $118.86 and a 52 week high of $260.87.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.64 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $15.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.58 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 21.68% and a return on equity of 87.34%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.63 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Oracle Corporation will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 10th. Oracle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.08%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Oracle in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. They set a "sector outperform" rating and a $300.00 price objective on the stock. Guggenheim upped their target price on shares of Oracle from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Oracle from $215.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. JMP Securities upped their target price on shares of Oracle from $240.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of Oracle from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $227.04.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Michael D. Sicilia sold 15,880 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.48, for a total transaction of $4,041,142.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 99,212 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,247,469.76. This trade represents a 13.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Clayton M. Magouyrk sold 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.10, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 19.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 444,183 shares of company stock valued at $86,521,198 in the last ninety days. 42.20% of the stock is 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.