GAM Holding AG Cuts Stock Holdings in Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL)

GAM Holding AG reduced its stake in Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL) by 7.2% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 178,695 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 13,947 shares during the period. Oracle accounts for approximately 1.9% of GAM Holding AG’s holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest position. GAM Holding AG’s holdings in Oracle were worth $24,983,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Oracle by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 157,411,949 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $26,231,127,000 after purchasing an additional 2,296,069 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Oracle by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 38,002,902 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $6,332,803,000 after purchasing an additional 156,269 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Oracle by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,814,302 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $5,954,961,000 after purchasing an additional 619,619 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Oracle by 9.3% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 20,202,421 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $3,366,531,000 after purchasing an additional 1,722,037 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Oracle by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 19,620,534 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $3,269,566,000 after purchasing an additional 2,176,892 shares during the period. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.81, for a total transaction of $291,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 34,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,049,400.30. This trade represents a 5.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 17,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.24, for a total value of $2,646,700.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 58,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,785,531.60. This represents a 23.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 442,366 shares of company stock worth $83,395,223 in the last quarter. 42.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Oracle from $150.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Loop Capital set a $135.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Oracle from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $200.00 to $235.00 in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded shares of Oracle from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $196.74.

Oracle Stock Down 2.8%

Shares of NYSE:ORCL opened at $205.06 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $573.53 billion, a PE ratio of 47.25, a P/E/G ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.07, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 0.75. The company’s fifty day moving average is $160.39 and its 200-day moving average is $161.52. Oracle Corporation has a 52 week low of $118.86 and a 52 week high of $216.60.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.64 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $15.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.58 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 21.68% and a return on equity of 87.34%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.63 EPS. 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.