Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI Trims Stock Holdings in Oracle Corporation $ORCL

Key Points

• Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI reduced its holdings in Oracle Corporation by 16.5% in the 1st quarter, now owning 816,677 shares valued at approximately $114 million.
• Analysts have shown strong confidence in Oracle's stock, with multiple ratings raised, pushing the average target price to $232.61, and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."
• Oracle recently announced a dividend of $0.50 per share, reflecting a 0.8% yield and a dividend payout ratio of 46.08%.

Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI lessened its holdings in shares of Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 16.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 816,677 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after selling 160,807 shares during the quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI's holdings in Oracle were worth $114,180,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 189.3% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 153,580 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $25,593,000 after acquiring an additional 100,494 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Oracle by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,418 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $903,000 after buying an additional 404 shares in the last quarter. Investor s Fiduciary Advisor Network LLC purchased a new position in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at $458,000. Interval Partners LP purchased a new stake in Oracle during the 4th quarter worth about $2,336,000. Finally, Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC increased its position in Oracle by 22.8% during the 4th quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC now owns 14,740 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $2,456,000 after purchasing an additional 2,740 shares in the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of Oracle from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Loop Capital set a $135.00 price objective on Oracle in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Oracle from $221.00 to $281.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday. Raymond James Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Oracle in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Piper Sandler upgraded Oracle from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $190.00 to $270.00 in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $232.61.

Oracle Price Performance

Shares of ORCL opened at $238.78 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $670.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.02, a PEG ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 1.46. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $239.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $187.22. 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.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.58 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 87.34% and a net margin of 21.68%.The firm's revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.63 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Oracle Corporation will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Clayton M. Magouyrk sold 15,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 directly owned 60,722 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,000,580.20. This trade represents a 19.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 3,303 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.32, for a total transaction of $770,655.96. Following the transaction, the director owned 31,447 shares in the company, valued at $7,337,214.04. This represents a 9.51% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 444,183 shares of company stock worth $86,521,198 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 42.20% of the company's stock.

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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