Westfield Capital Management Co. LP Reduces Stock Position in Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL)

Key Points

• Westfield Capital Management Co. LP reduced its stock position in Oracle Corporation by 16.0% in the first quarter, selling 132,819 shares, bringing their total to 698,726 shares valued at approximately $97.7 million.
• Oracle's quarterly earnings report showed earnings per share of $1.70, exceeding analyst estimates, with a revenue increase of 11.3% year-over-year, totaling $15.90 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, representing a yield of 0.8%, with a payout ratio of 46.08%.

Westfield Capital Management Co. LP trimmed its position in Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 16.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 698,726 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after selling 132,819 shares during the quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP's holdings in Oracle were worth $97,689,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ORCL. FMR LLC raised its stake in Oracle by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 38,002,902 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $6,332,803,000 after buying an additional 156,269 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Oracle by 12.5% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of Oracle by 20.5% in the fourth 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 purchasing an additional 2,350,448 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Oracle by 4.3% in the fourth 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 purchasing an additional 335,352 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG increased its holdings in shares of Oracle by 9.4% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 6,821,083 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $1,136,665,000 after purchasing an additional 585,560 shares during the period. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Oracle Price Performance

ORCL stock opened at $244.44 on Monday. Oracle Corporation has a 1 year low of $118.86 and a 1 year high of $260.87. 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's 50 day moving average price is $213.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $174.96. The firm has a market cap of $686.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.32, a PEG ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 1.43.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.70 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $15.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.63 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Oracle Corporation will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on ORCL shares. Scotiabank started coverage on Oracle in a report on Thursday, July 17th. They set a "sector outperform" rating and a $300.00 target price on the stock. TD Cowen raised their target price on Oracle from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $240.00 price objective (up previously from $200.00) on shares of Oracle in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. Loop Capital set a $135.00 target price on Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $218.29.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In related news, Director Rona Alison Fairhead purchased 480 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 7th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $233.87 per share, with a total value 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. This trade represents a 2.22% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 3,303 shares of the 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 transaction, the director directly owned 31,447 shares in the company, valued at $7,337,214.04. The trade was a 9.51% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 428,303 shares of company stock worth $82,480,056 in the last quarter. 42.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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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