Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Bought by Impax Asset Management Group plc

Impax Asset Management Group plc lifted its position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 19.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,272,140 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 371,949 shares during the quarter. Oracle accounts for approximately 1.3% of Impax Asset Management Group plc’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Impax Asset Management Group plc’s holdings in Oracle were worth $320,188,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Oracle by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 151,213,890 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $18,993,977,000 after acquiring an additional 1,514,569 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 18,466,713 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $2,319,604,000 after purchasing an additional 82,551 shares during the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 17.7% in the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 14,599,902 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,539,268,000 after purchasing an additional 2,191,342 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 148.8% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 12,872,300 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,616,855,000 after purchasing an additional 7,699,141 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Putnam Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 12,339,385 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,300,941,000 after purchasing an additional 697,961 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Edward Screven sold 235,918 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.30, for a total transaction of $34,042,967.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 2,626,764 shares in the company, valued at $379,042,045.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Oracle news, Chairman Lawrence Joseph Ellison sold 1,125,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.69, for a total value of $161,651,250.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,145,732,353 shares in the company, valued at $164,630,281,802.57. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Edward Screven sold 235,918 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.30, for a total value of $34,042,967.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 2,626,764 shares in the company, valued at approximately $379,042,045.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,862,500 shares of company stock worth $266,776,624. 42.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ORCL has been the topic of several recent research reports. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Oracle in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. StockNews.com downgraded Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, June 6th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $175.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Oracle from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Oracle from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $145.83.

Oracle Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ORCL traded down $0.31 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $142.30. The company had a trading volume of 317,184 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,993,707. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.25. The stock has a market cap of $392.16 billion, a PE ratio of 38.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $138.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $128.12. Oracle Co. has a 1-year low of $99.26 and a 1-year high of $146.59.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $14.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.57 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 223.01% and a net margin of 19.76%. The business’s revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.35 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 11th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 11th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.12%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is 43.13%.

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.