Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Sold by Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.

Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. trimmed its holdings in Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 2.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 101,265 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after selling 3,056 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.'s holdings in Oracle were worth $14,158,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Oracle during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,216,314,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Oracle by 15,012.3% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,755,096 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $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 lifted its holdings in Oracle by 20.5% during 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 worth $2,303,858,000 after purchasing an additional 2,350,448 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 2,296,069 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Oracle by 268.4% during the 4th quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 3,077,947 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $512,909,000 after purchasing an additional 2,242,520 shares during the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Oracle Stock Down 1.9%

Shares of Oracle stock traded down $4.55 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $230.45. The company had a trading volume of 10,172,356 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,259,055. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.07, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $647.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.10, a P/E/G ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a 50 day moving average of $187.16 and a 200 day moving average of $166.49. Oracle Corporation has a 52-week low of $118.86 and a 52-week high of $241.44.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $15.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.58 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 87.34% and a net margin of 21.68%. The company's revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.63 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Oracle Corporation will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. Oracle's payout ratio is currently 46.08%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Oracle news, EVP Maria Smith sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.99, for a total value of $2,329,900.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 40,807 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,507,622.93. This represents a 19.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,866 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.53, for a total transaction of $428,552.98. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 31,764 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,749,670.92. The trade was a 8.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 445,366 shares of company stock valued at $84,784,653 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 42.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ORCL has been the subject of several research reports. Oppenheimer reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Oracle in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Oracle from $135.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $240.00 target price (up from $200.00) on shares of Oracle in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $195.00 target price (up from $145.00) on shares of Oracle in a research report on Friday, June 13th. 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $209.33.

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.