Martingale Asset Management L P Trims Stake in Oracle Corporation $ORCL

Martingale Asset Management L P lowered its position in Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL) by 23.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 151,883 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 45,299 shares during the period. Martingale Asset Management L P’s holdings in Oracle were worth $21,235,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. grew its position in Oracle by 71.6% in the 1st 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 during the last quarter. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. grew its holdings in shares of Oracle by 4.3% in the first quarter. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. now owns 51,350 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $7,179,000 after purchasing an additional 2,110 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Oracle in the 1st quarter worth about $732,692,000. Rockland Trust Co. increased its stake in Oracle by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 10,165 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,421,000 after buying an additional 467 shares during the period. Finally, Calamos Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Oracle by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC now owns 711,290 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $99,445,000 after buying an additional 10,426 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE:ORCL opened at $235.1560 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $660.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.18, a PEG ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 1.43. Oracle Corporation has a 52 week low of $118.86 and a 52 week high of $260.87. 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 firm has a 50 day moving average of $234.29 and a 200 day moving average of $181.88.

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

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 10th. Oracle’s payout ratio is currently 46.08%.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In related news, insider Michael D. Sicilia sold 15,880 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.48, for a total value of $4,041,142.40. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 99,212 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,247,469.76. This represents a 13.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Maria Smith sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.99, for a total value of $2,329,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 40,807 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,507,622.93. This trade represents a 19.68% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 444,183 shares of company stock worth $86,521,198 in the last 90 days. 42.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on ORCL shares. DA Davidson boosted their price target on Oracle from $140.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, June 12th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Oracle in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Guggenheim increased their price target on Oracle from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $221.00 price objective (up from $202.00) on shares of Oracle in a report on Friday, June 13th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Oracle from $275.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $227.04.

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.