USS Investment Management Ltd Cuts Holdings in Oracle Corporation $ORCL

Key Points

• USS Investment Management Ltd has decreased its stake in Oracle Corporation by 19.1%, selling 61,334 shares and now holding 259,160 shares worth $36.23 million.
• Oracle's recent earnings report showed an EPS of $1.70, exceeding expectations, with a revenue of $15.90 billion, marking an 11.3% year-over-year growth.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, representing a 0.9% yield and a payout ratio of 46.08%.

USS Investment Management Ltd lowered its stake in Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 19.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 259,160 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after selling 61,334 shares during the period. USS Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Oracle were worth $36,234,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Oracle by 2.2% in 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 acquiring an additional 3,513,464 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Oracle by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 19,741,423 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $2,760,048,000 after acquiring an additional 120,889 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 2,350,448 shares in the last quarter. Amundi lifted its position in Oracle by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 12,736,855 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $1,749,280,000 after acquiring an additional 409,691 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Polen Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Oracle by 17.6% in the 1st quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC now owns 12,609,101 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $1,762,878,000 after acquiring an additional 1,885,370 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Oracle from $145.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. Citigroup raised Oracle from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Oracle from $220.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Scotiabank initiated coverage on Oracle in a report 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-two have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Oracle currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $232.61.

Oracle Stock Performance

Oracle stock traded up $5.98 during trading on Monday, reaching $238.78. The company had a trading volume of 18,685,572 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,036,564. Oracle Corporation has a 52 week low of $118.86 and a 52 week high of $260.87. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $239.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $187.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $670.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 1.46. 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 (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last announced its 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. 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 analysts' expectations of $15.58 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.63 EPS. Oracle's revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Oracle Corporation will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Oracle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In other Oracle news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 3,303 shares of the firm's 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 $7,337,214.04. This trade represents a 9.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Rona Alison Fairhead purchased 480 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 acquisition, the director owned 22,110 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,170,865.70. This trade represents a 2.22% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 444,183 shares of company stock valued at $86,521,198. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.