Principal Financial Group Inc. Purchases 234,381 Shares of Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL) by 10.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,437,951 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after buying an additional 234,381 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.09% of Oracle worth $340,850,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new position in Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Oracle during the 1st quarter worth $27,000. Inlight Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Oracle news, Vice Chairman Jeffrey Henley sold 400,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.42, for a total transaction of $76,168,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 1,097,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $209,000,421.92. The trade was a 26.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 17,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 58,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,785,531.60. The trade was a 23.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 440,366 shares of company stock worth $83,103,603. Company insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on ORCL shares. Mizuho reduced their price target on Oracle from $210.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Oracle from $145.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 12th. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $180.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Monday. Finally, Roth Capital reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Oracle currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $200.63.

Oracle Price Performance

NYSE ORCL opened at $230.55 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $647.58 billion, a PE ratio of 53.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 1.39. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $174.16 and its 200-day moving average is $163.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.07. Oracle Corporation has a 12-month low of $118.86 and a 12-month high of $231.90.

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

Oracle Dividend Announcement

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 paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.87%. 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.