WPG Advisers LLC Takes $167,000 Position in Oracle Corporation $ORCL

Key Points

• WPG Advisers LLC has acquired a new stake in Oracle Corporation, purchasing 1,192 shares valued at approximately $167,000 during the first quarter.
• Oracle's recent dividend declaration of $0.50 per share reflects an annualized yield of 0.8% and a dividend payout ratio of 46.08%.
• Market analysts maintain a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for Oracle, with an average price target of $227.04, following the company's better-than-expected earnings results.

WPG Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,192 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock, valued at approximately $167,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ORCL. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 71.6% during 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 purchasing an additional 107,404 shares during the period. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. boosted its position in Oracle by 4.3% during 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 purchasing an additional 2,110 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Oracle in the first quarter valued at $732,692,000. Rockland Trust Co. grew its stake 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 valued at $1,421,000 after buying an additional 467 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Calamos Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Oracle by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC now owns 711,290 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $99,445,000 after acquiring an additional 10,426 shares in the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ORCL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. CIBC reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Oracle in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Oracle from $135.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Oracle from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price objective 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $227.04.

Oracle Stock Performance

Oracle stock traded down $2.54 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $223.59. 5,151,358 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,850,861. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.07, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.75. Oracle Corporation has a 12 month low of $118.86 and a 12 month high of $260.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $628.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 1.46. The business has a 50 day moving average of $238.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $185.37.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.64 by $0.06. Oracle had a net margin of 21.68% and a return on equity of 87.34%. The company had revenue of $15.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.58 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.63 earnings per share. Oracle's quarterly revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Oracle Corporation will post 5 earnings per share for the current 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 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 dividend yield of 0.9%. Oracle's dividend payout ratio is presently 46.08%.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In other Oracle news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 3,303 shares of the company'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 transaction, the director owned 31,447 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,337,214.04. This represents a 9.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Michael D. Sicilia sold 15,880 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 99,212 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $25,247,469.76. The trade was a 13.80% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 444,183 shares of company stock valued at $86,521,198 in the last three months. 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.