The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Raises Stake in Oracle Corporation $ORCL

Key Points

• The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in Oracle Corporation by 12.2%, now holding over 4.1 million shares worth approximately $577 million.
• Oracle reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.64, and its revenue increased by 11.3% year-over-year, totaling $15.90 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50, representing an annualized dividend of $2.00 and a yield of 0.8%.

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in shares of Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 12.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,126,679 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after purchasing an additional 447,522 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 0.15% of Oracle worth $576,952,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 71.6% in the first quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 257,378 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $35,984,000 after buying an additional 107,404 shares in the last quarter. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 4.3% in the first quarter. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. now owns 51,350 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $7,179,000 after buying an additional 2,110 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Oracle in the first quarter worth $732,692,000. Rockland Trust Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 4.8% in the first quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 10,165 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $1,421,000 after buying an additional 467 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Calamos Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 1.5% in the first quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC now owns 711,290 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $99,445,000 after buying an additional 10,426 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company's stock.

Oracle Trading Up 1.9%

NYSE ORCL opened at $240.19 on Friday. The company's 50-day moving average price is $237.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $184.51. 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 stock has a market cap of $674.64 billion, a PE ratio of 55.34, a PEG ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.43. 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 results on Wednesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 net margin of 21.68% and a return on equity of 87.34%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.63 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Oracle Corporation will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In other Oracle news, insider Michael D. Sicilia sold 15,880 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 99,212 shares in the company, valued at $25,247,469.76. This represents a 13.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Clayton M. Magouyrk sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.10, for a total transaction of $3,211,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 60,722 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,000,580.20. The trade was a 19.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 444,183 shares of company stock valued at $86,521,198. Company insiders own 42.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on ORCL. Roth Capital reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Oracle in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Oracle from $140.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of Oracle from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Finally, Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Oracle in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. They set a "sector outperform" rating and a $300.00 price target on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $227.04.

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.

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