Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Acquired by Ballast Inc.

Ballast Inc. grew its position in Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL) by 5.7% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 4,672 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the quarter. Ballast Inc.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $653,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Meridian Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Oracle by 14.9% during the 1st quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 47,644 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $6,661,000 after purchasing an additional 6,166 shares during the last quarter. Operose Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Oracle by 50.2% during the 1st quarter. Operose Advisors LLC now owns 314 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance raised its position in shares of Oracle by 14.5% during the 1st quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 59,519 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $8,321,000 after purchasing an additional 7,524 shares during the last quarter. Linscomb Wealth Inc. raised its holdings in Oracle by 18.6% in the 1st quarter. Linscomb Wealth Inc. now owns 44,376 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $6,204,000 after acquiring an additional 6,947 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SouthState Corp raised its holdings in Oracle by 5.3% in the 1st quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 173,328 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $24,233,000 after acquiring an additional 8,669 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Vice Chairman Jeffrey Henley sold 400,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.42, for a total transaction of $76,168,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 1,097,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $209,000,421.92. This represents a 26.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 3,303 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.32, for a total transaction of $770,655.96. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 31,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,337,214.04. This trade represents a 9.51% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 444,183 shares of company stock valued at $86,521,198 in the last ninety days. 42.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Oracle Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE ORCL opened at $250.04 on Monday. Oracle Corporation has a 12-month low of $118.86 and a 12-month high of $260.87. The company has a market capitalization of $702.32 billion, a PE ratio of 57.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.07, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.75. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $222.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $177.75.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $15.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.63 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Oracle Corporation will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is 46.08%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Roth Capital reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Oracle in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Oracle in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Oracle from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $180.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Monday, June 30th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $222.75.

About Oracle

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.