Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Acquired by Chicago Capital LLC

Chicago Capital LLC grew its stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 10.9% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 43,107 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,239 shares during the quarter. Chicago Capital LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $6,087,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Oracle by 1.0% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 151,213,890 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $18,993,977,000 after purchasing an additional 1,514,569 shares during the period. Capital World Investors raised its stake in Oracle by 0.4% during the first 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 period. Parnassus Investments LLC raised its stake in Oracle by 17.7% during the fourth 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 during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in Oracle by 148.8% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 12,872,300 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,616,855,000 after purchasing an additional 7,699,141 shares during the period. Finally, Putnam Investments LLC raised its stake in Oracle by 6.0% during the fourth 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 period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Stock Performance

NYSE:ORCL traded down $0.80 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $141.81. 11,154,796 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,056,655. The firm has a market capitalization of $390.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a 50-day moving average of $138.72 and a 200 day moving average of $128.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.25. Oracle Co. has a 1-year low of $99.26 and a 1-year high of $146.59.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by ($0.02). Oracle had a return on equity of 223.01% and a net margin of 19.76%. The business had revenue of $14.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.57 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.35 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5.02 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 11th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 11th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.13%.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In other news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.89, for a total value of $2,068,350.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 58,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,010,030.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.89, for a total value of $2,068,350.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 58,090 shares in the company, valued at $8,010,030.10. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Jeffrey Berg sold 22,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.12, for a total transaction of $3,220,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 210,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,157,101.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 1,862,500 shares of company stock worth $266,776,624. Company insiders own 42.80% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Oracle from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Oracle from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Oracle from $145.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Oracle from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $175.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Oracle has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $145.83.

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.