First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Buys 6,052 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. boosted its stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 14.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 48,044 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,052 shares during the quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $6,035,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Oracle in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Westend Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Oracle during the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Oracle in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Tidemark LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Nordwand Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. UBS Group lifted their price target on Oracle from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Oracle from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Oracle from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $125.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Oracle from $133.00 to $128.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 10th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $145.83.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In other news, insider Edward Screven sold 235,918 shares of the 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 2,626,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $379,042,045.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Director George H. Conrades sold 25,000 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.13, for a total transaction of $2,903,250.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 17,836 shares in the company, valued at $2,071,294.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Edward Screven sold 235,918 shares of the company’s 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. Insiders have sold 385,639 shares of company stock valued at $53,002,729 over the last quarter. 42.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Oracle Stock Performance

NYSE:ORCL traded up $1.10 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $144.38. The company had a trading volume of 3,560,778 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,810,036. The firm has a market cap of $397.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.92, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.02. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average price is $126.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $118.95. Oracle Co. has a 52 week low of $99.26 and a 52 week high of $145.32.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.63 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $14.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.57 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.35 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5.01 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 11th will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 11th. Oracle’s payout ratio is 43.13%.

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.