Formidable Asset Management LLC Boosts Holdings in Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL)

Formidable Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL) by 9.7% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 14,459 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,276 shares during the quarter. Formidable Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $2,022,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Oracle in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Inlight Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Oracle in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Oracle by 284.9% in the first quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 204 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Citigroup upgraded shares of Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $180.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Monday, June 30th. Loop Capital set a $135.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $221.00 target price (up from $202.00) on shares of Oracle in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $218.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Maria Smith sold 10,000 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.99, for a total value of $2,329,900.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 40,807 shares in the company, valued at $9,507,622.93. The trade was a 19.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 17,500 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.24, for a total transaction of $2,646,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 58,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,785,531.60. This trade represents a 23.15% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 448,669 shares of company stock valued at $85,555,309 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of NYSE ORCL opened at $245.30 on Friday. 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 52 week low of $118.86 and a 52 week high of $251.60. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $196.21 and its 200 day moving average is $168.94. The company has a market cap of $689.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.52, a PEG ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 1.39.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.70 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 company had revenue of $15.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.58 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.63 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Oracle Corporation will post 5 earnings per share for the current 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. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. Oracle’s payout ratio is 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.