GAMMA Investing LLC Raises Position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 55.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 22,315 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after buying an additional 7,982 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $3,151,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ORCL. Westend Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Oracle in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Tidemark LLC purchased a new position in Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp purchased a new position in Oracle in the first quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Nordwand Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In related news, Chairman Lawrence Joseph Ellison sold 1,125,000 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.69, for a total value of $161,651,250.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 1,145,732,353 shares in the company, valued at approximately $164,630,281,802.57. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 15,000 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.89, for a total value of $2,068,350.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 58,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,010,030.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Lawrence Joseph Ellison sold 1,125,000 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.69, for a total value of $161,651,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,145,732,353 shares in the company, valued at $164,630,281,802.57. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,907,500 shares of company stock valued at $272,074,924 in the last three months. 42.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Oracle Price Performance

NYSE ORCL traded down $4.23 on Friday, reaching $133.28. 8,251,585 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,048,810. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $136.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $124.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.25. The company has a market cap of $367.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.02. Oracle Co. has a 12 month low of $99.26 and a 12 month 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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $14.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.57 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 19.76% and a return on equity of 223.01%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.35 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 11th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 11th. Oracle’s payout ratio is currently 43.13%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on ORCL shares. KeyCorp increased their target price on Oracle from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Oracle from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Bank of America increased their target price on Oracle from $144.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. UBS Group increased their target price on Oracle from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Oracle from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $145.83.

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.