Argent Capital Management LLC Sells 45,117 Shares of Oracle Corporation $ORCL

Argent Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL) by 36.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 77,831 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 45,117 shares during the period. Argent Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $15,170,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Oracle by 2.8% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 168,960,500 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $47,518,451,000 after purchasing an additional 4,681,626 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Oracle by 1.7% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 73,459,391 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $16,060,427,000 after acquiring an additional 1,252,723 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in Oracle by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 23,310,827 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $6,555,961,000 after buying an additional 266,588 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Oracle in the second quarter worth approximately $4,275,378,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Oracle by 0.8% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 11,938,457 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $3,357,572,000 after acquiring an additional 98,693 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Oracle

Here are the key news stories impacting Oracle this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Large AI backlog and upbeat analyst bull cases reinforce growth narrative — recent coverage highlights a reported $553 billion backlog tied to AI contracts that helped spark the post‑earnings pop and supports bullish long‑term upside for cloud/AI exposure. Massive News: Oracle’s $553 Billion Backlog Could Make It the Most Important AI Stock of 2026
• Positive Sentiment: Top‑street bulls (e.g., Guggenheim) reiterate buy cases and high price targets — some firms kept very bullish PTs after the quarter, arguing AI buildout could drive a future cash‑flow inflection. Why Guggenheim Sees Oracle’s AI Buildout Setting Up a Future Cash Flow Inflection
• Positive Sentiment: Bullish takeaways on durable cloud growth — commentators argue the quarter strengthens the case for sustained AI-driven revenue upside, making the stock a candidate for a multi‑year rally if execution holds. Where Will Oracle Be in 2 Years?
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed media and pundit comments are tempering momentum — high‑profile commentators (e.g., Jim Cramer) called Oracle “good” but suggested other names may be better, which can cool retail enthusiasm. Jim Cramer Says “Oracle’s Good, But I Think There Are Others That Are Better”
• Neutral Sentiment: Capex debate remains unresolved — analysts flag Oracle’s plan for very large 2026 capex as high‑risk/high‑reward; markets are weighing long‑term payoff vs near‑term cash burn. Oracle Pushes Up Capex Spending on AI: High Risk or High Reward?
• Negative Sentiment: Investors refocus on dilution and financing risk after the AI‑driven results pop — post‑earnings materials reiterated large funding/capex plans (including an ATM program) that can pressure the share price. Oracle shares slide as investors refocus on dilution and spending risk after AI-driven results pop
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple securities‑fraud class actions and law‑firm alerts have been filed/issued, increasing legal and reputational overhang and creating headline risk. Kessler Topaz files securities fraud class action against Oracle
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling and institutional rotation data are being flagged by trackers, which can amplify downside momentum while headline and dilution concerns remain. Oracle shares slide as investors refocus on dilution and spending risk after AI-driven results pop (insider activity)
• Negative Sentiment: Analysis highlighting cash burn from the AI push raises short‑term profitability and financing concerns despite growth — this keeps some value investors on the sidelines. Oracle Is Burning Cash in the Pursuit of “Hypergrowth.”

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,223 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.61, for a total transaction of $437,064.03. Following the transaction, the director owned 25,596 shares in the company, valued at $5,032,429.56. This represents a 7.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Douglas A. Kehring sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.89, for a total transaction of $6,821,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 33,638 shares in the company, valued at $6,555,709.82. This trade represents a 50.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 62,223 shares of company stock worth $11,763,864 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 40.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Oracle from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $230.00 to $210.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Mizuho lowered their target price on Oracle from $400.00 to $320.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Melius Research set a $160.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $229.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Oracle currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $265.77.

Oracle Stock Down 4.0%

Shares of NYSE:ORCL opened at $149.32 on Friday. Oracle Corporation has a 52-week low of $118.86 and a 52-week high of $345.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $429.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.66. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $161.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $215.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.66, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a current ratio of 1.35.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.71 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $17.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.91 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 62.70% and a net margin of 25.30%.The firm’s revenue was up 21.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.47 earnings per share. Oracle has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 1.960-2.000 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Oracle Corporation will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 9th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.91%.

Oracle Profile

Oracle Corporation is a multinational technology company that develops and sells database software, cloud engineered systems, enterprise software applications and related services. The company is widely known for its flagship Oracle Database and a portfolio of enterprise-grade software products that support data management, application development, analytics and middleware. Over recent years Oracle has expanded its focus to include cloud infrastructure and cloud applications, positioning itself as a provider of both platform and software-as-a-service solutions for large organizations.

Oracle’s product and service offerings include Oracle Database and the Autonomous Database, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI), enterprise resource planning (ERP), human capital management (HCM) and supply chain management (SCM) cloud applications (often grouped under Oracle Fusion Cloud Applications), middleware such as WebLogic, and developer technologies including Java and MySQL.