Swiss National Bank Boosts Holdings in Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL)

Swiss National Bank increased its stake in shares of Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 0.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,733,200 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after buying an additional 36,300 shares during the period. Oracle comprises about 0.5% of Swiss National Bank's holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.17% of Oracle worth $661,749,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Oracle by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 160,925,413 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $22,498,982,000 after buying an additional 3,513,464 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Oracle by 12.5% during 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 buying an additional 2,176,892 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $2,303,858,000 after buying an additional 2,350,448 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Oracle by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,975,191 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $1,534,624,000 after buying an additional 94,236 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Oracle by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,046,273 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $1,340,830,000 after buying an additional 335,352 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 3,303 shares of the firm'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 sale, the director directly owned 31,447 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,337,214.04. This trade represents a 9.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Michael D. Sicilia sold 15,880 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $25,247,469.76. This represents a 13.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 444,183 shares of company stock worth $86,521,198. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Oracle Price Performance

Shares of Oracle stock opened at $249.38 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $700.47 billion, a PE ratio of 57.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.83 and a beta of 1.43. Oracle Corporation has a 12-month low of $118.86 and a 12-month high of $260.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.07. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $220.94 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $177.32.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.64 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $15.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.58 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 21.68% and a return on equity of 87.34%. The company's revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.63 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Oracle Corporation will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were issued 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 (DPR) is 46.08%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ORCL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Oracle from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. CIBC reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Loop Capital set a $135.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Oracle from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $190.00 to $270.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $222.75.

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.

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