Oracle Corporation $ORCL Position Boosted by Stance Capital LLC

Key Points

• Stance Capital LLC increased its holdings in Oracle Corporation by 1,650.2%, now owning 18,255 shares valued at approximately $2.55 million.
• Wall Street analysts have raised Oracle's target prices significantly, with Mizuho setting a new target of $300 and other firms providing optimistic ratings.
• Oracle recently announced a $0.50 quarterly dividend, which amounts to an annual yield of 0.9%, with a payout ratio of 46.08%.

Stance Capital LLC lifted its stake in Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 1,650.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,255 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after purchasing an additional 17,212 shares during the period. Oracle comprises about 1.8% of Stance Capital LLC's holdings, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Stance Capital LLC's holdings in Oracle were worth $2,552,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ORCL. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Oracle by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,290 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $879,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Tacita Capital Inc increased its holdings in shares of Oracle by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. Tacita Capital Inc now owns 1,245 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $174,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Oracle by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC now owns 4,333 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $606,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Tiller Private Wealth Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Oracle by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Tiller Private Wealth Inc. now owns 1,599 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $224,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cadence Bank increased its holdings in shares of Oracle by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Cadence Bank now owns 7,440 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $1,040,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Oracle Stock Up 2.6%

NYSE:ORCL traded up $5.98 on Monday, reaching $238.78. The stock had a trading volume of 18,685,572 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,036,564. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.07. The company has a 50-day moving average of $239.78 and a 200 day moving average of $187.22. The stock has a market cap of $670.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 1.46. Oracle Corporation has a 12-month low of $118.86 and a 12-month high of $260.87.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $1.64 by $0.06. The company 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.63 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Oracle Corporation will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Oracle news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 3,303 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.32, for a total value of $770,655.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 31,447 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,337,214.04. This represents a 9.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Michael D. Sicilia sold 15,880 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 99,212 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $25,247,469.76. The trade was a 13.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 444,183 shares of company stock worth $86,521,198 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 42.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on ORCL. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Oracle in a report on Thursday, June 12th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Oracle from $220.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Oracle from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. JMP Securities upped their price objective on Oracle from $240.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $240.00 price target (up from $200.00) on shares of Oracle in a report on Thursday, June 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Oracle has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $232.61.

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.