Oracle Corporation $ORCL Stake Increased by Chesley Taft & Associates LLC

Chesley Taft & Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL) by 2.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 174,033 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,976 shares during the quarter. Oracle comprises 2.1% of Chesley Taft & Associates LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $48,945,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Oracle by 2.1% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 164,278,874 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $35,916,290,000 after acquiring an additional 3,353,461 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Oracle by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 73,459,391 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $16,060,427,000 after purchasing an additional 1,252,723 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Oracle during the 2nd quarter valued at $4,275,378,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in shares of Oracle by 0.4% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 13,884,524 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,941,195,000 after purchasing an additional 59,164 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi raised its position in shares of Oracle by 3.3% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 12,736,855 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,749,280,000 after buying an additional 409,691 shares in the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Oracle Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of ORCL opened at $179.93 on Friday. Oracle Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $118.86 and a fifty-two week high of $345.72. The firm has a market cap of $516.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.82, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.66. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $236.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $241.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.28, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, December 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.64 by $0.62. The company had revenue of $16.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.19 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 25.28% and a return on equity of 70.60%. The firm’s revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.47 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Oracle Corporation will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 9th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 9th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Oracle’s payout ratio is currently 37.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Jeffrey Berg sold 49,365 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 151,999 shares in the company, valued at $43,018,756.98. This represents a 24.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Maria Smith sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.62, for a total value of $1,403,100.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 47,083 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,212,431.46. The trade was a 9.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 155,190 shares of company stock worth $45,279,001 in the last 90 days. 40.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. BNP Paribas set a $377.00 target price on Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Oracle from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 17th. DA Davidson decreased their price objective on shares of Oracle from $200.00 to $180.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Baird R W upgraded shares of Oracle to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “market outperform” rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Oracle presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $302.92.

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.