Syntax Research Inc. Buys Shares of 11,000 Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL)

Key Points

• Syntax Research Inc. has acquired 11,000 shares of Oracle Corporation, valued at approximately $1,538,000, during the first quarter of the year.
• Insider trading activity has been notable, with Director Leon E. Panetta selling 17,500 shares, resulting in a 23.15% decrease in his ownership stake in the company.
• Analysts have been bullish on Oracle, with multiple firms issuing upgrades and raising their price targets, with Stifel Nicolaus increasing its target from $180 to $250.

Syntax Research Inc. purchased a new stake in Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 11,000 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,538,000.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Oracle during the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Inlight Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Oracle during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Oracle by 284.9% during the 1st quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 204 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Oracle during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new position in Oracle during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Oracle in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $240.00 target price (up previously from $200.00) on shares of Oracle in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $221.00 target price (up previously from $202.00) on shares of Oracle in a research note on Friday, June 13th. CIBC reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Oracle in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price objective on Oracle from $140.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Oracle currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $218.29.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In other news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 3,303 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.32, for a total transaction of $770,655.96. Following the sale, the director directly owned 31,447 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,337,214.04. The trade was a 9.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Rona Alison Fairhead bought 480 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $233.87 per share, for a total transaction of $112,257.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 22,110 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,170,865.70. The trade was a 2.22% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 448,669 shares of company stock valued at $85,555,309. Company insiders own 42.20% of the company's stock.

Oracle Stock Up 0.9%

NYSE:ORCL traded up $2.22 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $245.05. The company had a trading volume of 7,146,126 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,472,494. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $204.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $171.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.07. Oracle Corporation has a 1 year low of $118.86 and a 1 year high of $251.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $688.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.46, a PEG ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 1.39.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.64 by $0.06. Oracle had a return on equity of 87.34% and a net margin of 21.68%. The company had revenue of $15.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.58 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.63 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Oracle Corporation will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 10th. Oracle's payout ratio is 46.08%.

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.