State of Alaska Department of Revenue Buys 57,855 Shares of Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL)

State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its stake in Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 31.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 241,113 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after purchasing an additional 57,855 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue's holdings in Oracle were worth $33,709,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at $2,216,314,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Oracle during the fourth quarter worth $930,095,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Oracle by 15,012.3% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,755,096 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $664,810,000 after buying an additional 4,723,631 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in shares of Oracle by 20.5% in 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 valued at $2,303,858,000 after buying an additional 2,350,448 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 157,411,949 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $26,231,127,000 after acquiring an additional 2,296,069 shares during the period. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on ORCL. Roth Capital reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their target price on shares of Oracle from $214.00 to $175.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of Oracle from $140.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, June 12th. Westpark Capital lifted their price target on shares of Oracle from $195.00 to $246.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, June 12th. Finally, UBS Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $225.00 price target (up from $200.00) on shares of Oracle in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Oracle presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $195.39.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.81, for a total transaction of $291,620.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 34,630 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,049,400.30. This trade represents a 5.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Vice Chairman Jeffrey Henley sold 400,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 1,097,576 shares of the company's stock, valued at $209,000,421.92. The trade was a 26.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 427,366 shares of company stock valued at $80,183,723 over the last three months. Company insiders own 42.20% of the company's stock.

Oracle Trading Up 1.2%

Oracle stock traded up $2.45 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $210.63. 15,046,293 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,820,395. The firm has a market capitalization of $589.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.53, a PEG ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.07, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 0.75. Oracle Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $118.86 and a fifty-two week high of $216.60. The firm's 50 day moving average is $155.97 and its 200-day moving average is $160.82.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last announced 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 business had revenue of $15.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.63 earnings per share. Oracle's revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Oracle Corporation will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.95%. Oracle's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.