Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL) Position Reduced by Morningstar Investment Services LLC

Morningstar Investment Services LLC cut its position in shares of Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL) by 58.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,118 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 30,265 shares during the quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $2,953,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. raised its position in 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 valued at $35,984,000 after acquiring an additional 107,404 shares in the last quarter. Rockland Trust Co. raised its position in Oracle by 4.8% during the first quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 10,165 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,421,000 after acquiring an additional 467 shares in the last quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC raised its position in Oracle by 1.5% during the first quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC now owns 711,290 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $99,445,000 after acquiring an additional 10,426 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Advisory LLC raised its position in Oracle by 34.1% during the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Advisory LLC now owns 12,968 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $2,258,000 after acquiring an additional 3,299 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Peak Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new position in Oracle during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $211,000. 42.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In other news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 3,303 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.32, for a total transaction of $770,655.96. Following the sale, the director directly owned 31,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,337,214.04. This represents a 9.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Maria Smith sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.99, for a total value of $2,329,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 40,807 shares in the company, valued at $9,507,622.93. This trade represents a 19.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 448,669 shares of company stock worth $85,555,309. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ORCL has been the topic of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 9th. Bank of America increased their price target on Oracle from $156.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, June 12th. Citigroup upgraded Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday. TD Cowen increased their price target on Oracle from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $195.00 price target (up previously from $145.00) on shares of Oracle in a report on Friday, June 13th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Oracle currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $218.29.

Oracle Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of Oracle stock opened at $245.30 on Friday. Oracle Corporation has a 12-month low of $118.86 and a 12-month high of $251.60. The stock has a market cap of $689.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.52, a P/E/G ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.07. The business’s 50 day moving average is $196.21 and its 200-day moving average is $168.94.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $15.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.63 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Oracle Corporation will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 24th. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. Oracle’s dividend 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.