Ariel Investments LLC Sells 6,123 Shares of Oracle Corporation $ORCL

Ariel Investments LLC cut its holdings in Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL) by 16.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 31,885 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 6,123 shares during the period. Ariel Investments LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $6,971,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ORCL. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Oracle by 189.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 153,580 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $25,593,000 after acquiring an additional 100,494 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in Oracle by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,418 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $903,000 after acquiring an additional 404 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Oracle during the first quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. grew its stake in Oracle by 16.4% in the first quarter. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. now owns 9,133 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,277,000 after purchasing an additional 1,284 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AIA Group Ltd increased its position in shares of Oracle by 13.6% during the 1st quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 26,298 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $3,677,000 after purchasing an additional 3,142 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ORCL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Erste Group Bank downgraded Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Oracle from $365.00 to $315.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Oracle from $325.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. Redburn Partners set a $175.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price objective on shares of Oracle from $271.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $320.84.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Clayton M. Magouyrk sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.64, for a total value of $11,065,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 154,030 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,610,859.20. This represents a 20.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Jeffrey Berg sold 49,365 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.02, for a total transaction of $13,971,282.30. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 151,999 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,018,756.98. This represents a 24.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 204,254 shares of company stock valued at $60,227,807 in the last 90 days. 40.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Oracle Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ORCL opened at $221.70 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $632.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.66. The business’s 50 day moving average is $250.65 and its 200-day moving average is $241.02. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.33. Oracle Corporation has a 1-year low of $118.86 and a 1-year high of $345.72.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $14.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.04 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 21.08% and a return on equity of 72.93%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.39 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Oracle Corporation will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

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.