Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Boosts Position in Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL)

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. increased its holdings in Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL) by 1.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 140,902 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,638 shares during the quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $19,700,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Oracle by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 157,411,949 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $26,231,127,000 after purchasing an additional 2,296,069 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its position in Oracle by 0.4% during 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 period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Oracle by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,814,302 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $5,954,961,000 after buying an additional 619,619 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 9.3% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 20,202,421 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $3,366,531,000 after buying an additional 1,722,037 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Oracle by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 19,620,534 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $3,269,566,000 after buying an additional 2,176,892 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on ORCL shares. 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. Loop Capital set a $135.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised Oracle from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada raised 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Oracle from $150.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $196.74.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In other Oracle news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.77, for a total transaction of $648,850.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 58,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,538,339.30. This trade represents a 7.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.81, for a total transaction of $291,620.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 34,630 shares in the company, valued at $5,049,400.30. This represents a 5.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 427,366 shares of company stock worth $80,183,723. 42.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Oracle Trading Up 1.2%

NYSE:ORCL opened at $210.63 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $589.13 billion, a PE ratio of 48.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.07. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $157.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $161.16. Oracle Corporation has a 12 month low of $118.86 and a 12 month high of $216.60.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.64 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $15.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.58 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 87.34% and a net margin of 21.68%. Oracle’s revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.63 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Oracle Corporation will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. Oracle’s payout ratio is 46.08%.

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.