Oak Ridge Investments LLC Acquires New Holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Oak Ridge Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 1,665 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock, valued at approximately $235,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Oracle by 1.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 151,213,890 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $18,993,977,000 after purchasing an additional 1,514,569 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its position in shares of Oracle by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 18,466,713 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $2,319,604,000 after purchasing an additional 82,551 shares during the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Oracle by 17.7% during the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 14,599,902 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,539,268,000 after purchasing an additional 2,191,342 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in Oracle by 148.8% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 12,872,300 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,616,855,000 after acquiring an additional 7,699,141 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Putnam Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Oracle by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 12,339,385 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,300,941,000 after purchasing an additional 697,961 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Price Performance

Oracle stock traded up $0.93 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $136.53. 2,294,586 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,295,791. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $137.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $125.47. The company has a market cap of $376.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.25. Oracle Co. has a twelve month low of $99.26 and a twelve month high of $146.59.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by ($0.02). Oracle had a net margin of 19.76% and a return on equity of 223.01%. The firm had revenue of $14.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.57 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.35 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 11th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 11th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In related news, insider Edward Screven sold 235,918 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.30, for a total transaction of $34,042,967.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,626,764 shares in the company, valued at approximately $379,042,045.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Edward Screven sold 235,918 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.30, for a total transaction of $34,042,967.40. Following the sale, the insider now owns 2,626,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $379,042,045.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.89, for a total value of $2,068,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 58,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,010,030.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,862,500 shares of company stock worth $266,776,624 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 42.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on ORCL shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Oracle from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Oracle from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Oracle from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. Mizuho raised their price target on Oracle from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Oracle from $142.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Oracle currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $145.83.

About Oracle

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.