Clark Asset Management LLC Increases Holdings in Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL)

Clark Asset Management LLC raised its position in Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL) by 31.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,860 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 441 shares during the quarter. Clark Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $260,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Oracle by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 157,411,949 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $26,231,127,000 after purchasing an additional 2,296,069 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Oracle by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 38,002,902 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $6,332,803,000 after buying an additional 156,269 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Oracle by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,814,302 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $5,954,961,000 after buying an additional 619,619 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Oracle by 9.3% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 20,202,421 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $3,366,531,000 after acquiring an additional 1,722,037 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Oracle by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 19,620,534 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $3,269,566,000 after acquiring an additional 2,176,892 shares in the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,866 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.53, for a total transaction of $428,552.98. Following the transaction, the director owned 31,764 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,749,670.92. The trade was a 8.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Clayton M. Magouyrk sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 60,722 shares in the company, valued at $13,000,580.20. The trade was a 19.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 440,366 shares of company stock worth $83,103,603. Company insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ORCL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Stephens initiated coverage on shares of Oracle in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $167.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Oracle from $145.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Oracle in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Westpark Capital upped their price objective on Oracle from $195.00 to $246.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Oracle in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Ten research 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Oracle presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $200.63.

Oracle Trading Up 5.3%

Shares of NYSE ORCL opened at $230.55 on Thursday. 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. The company has a market cap of $647.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.12, a P/E/G ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 1.39. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $174.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $163.33.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.63 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Oracle Corporation will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.87%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.08%.

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.