Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Acquires 1,014,959 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 459.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,235,859 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,014,959 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $174,503,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Westend Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Oracle during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Tidemark LLC acquired a new position in Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Nordwand Advisors LLC bought a new position in Oracle in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Oracle during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle in the second quarter valued at about $35,000. Institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE ORCL traded up $0.50 during trading on Friday, reaching $137.43. 4,893,328 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,289,465. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $138.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $125.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.25. The firm has a market cap of $378.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.02. Oracle Co. has a fifty-two week low of $99.26 and a fifty-two week high of $146.59.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.65 by ($0.02). Oracle had a return on equity of 223.01% and a net margin of 19.76%. The business had revenue of $14.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.57 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.35 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5.02 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 25th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.16%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In related news, insider Edward Screven sold 235,918 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 2,626,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $379,042,045.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Jeffrey Berg sold 22,500 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.12, for a total value of $3,220,200.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 210,712 shares in the company, valued at $30,157,101.44. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Edward Screven sold 235,918 shares of the 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 of the company’s stock, 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 valued at $266,776,624. 42.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on ORCL. Citigroup decreased their target price on Oracle from $133.00 to $128.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Oracle from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Oracle from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $175.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $125.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $145.83.

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.