Principle Wealth Partners LLC Purchases 1,780 Shares of Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL)

Principle Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL) by 3.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 61,887 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,780 shares during the quarter. Principle Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $8,652,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Greenwood Gearhart Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Oracle by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Greenwood Gearhart Inc. now owns 5,731 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $955,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Stage Harbor Financial LLC boosted its position in Oracle by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Stage Harbor Financial LLC now owns 1,433 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $239,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Hurlow Wealth Management Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Oracle by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Hurlow Wealth Management Group Inc. now owns 4,149 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $691,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Oracle by 1.7% in the first quarter. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC now owns 4,333 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $606,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. Finally, Private Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in Oracle by 14.9% in the 1st quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 556 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $78,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Oracle Price Performance

ORCL traded down $0.04 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $241.87. 1,643,898 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 12,160,467. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $201.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $170.49. Oracle Corporation has a 52-week low of $118.86 and a 52-week high of $251.60. The company has a market capitalization of $679.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.74, a PEG ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.07.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.64 by $0.06. Oracle had a return on equity of 87.34% and a net margin of 21.68%. The business had revenue of $15.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.63 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast 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 will be paid on Thursday, July 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Clayton M. Magouyrk sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.10, for a total value of $3,211,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 60,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,000,580.20. This trade represents a 19.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Rona Alison Fairhead bought 480 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of $233.87 per share, with a total value of $112,257.60. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 22,110 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,170,865.70. This trade represents a 2.22% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 448,669 shares of company stock valued at $85,555,309 over the last quarter. 42.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ORCL has been the subject of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Oracle from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Roth Capital reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Oracle from $215.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Oracle from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Oracle from $210.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $218.29.

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.