Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Sells 134,700 Shares of Oracle Corporation $ORCL

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. lowered its stake in Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL) by 7.6% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,644,716 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 134,700 shares during the quarter. Oracle makes up 0.6% of Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C.’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $359,584,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. AFT Forsyth & Company Inc. lifted its position in shares of Oracle by 5.5% in the 2nd quarter. AFT Forsyth & Company Inc. now owns 7,409 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,620,000 after purchasing an additional 385 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Oracle by 3.7% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 519,235 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $113,520,000 after buying an additional 18,739 shares during the period. Avenir Corp bought a new position in Oracle in the second quarter worth about $295,000. Absoluto Partners Gestao de Recursos Ltda lifted its holdings in Oracle by 18.1% in the second quarter. Absoluto Partners Gestao de Recursos Ltda now owns 17,813 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $3,894,000 after buying an additional 2,724 shares during the period. Finally, Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Oracle by 66.8% in the second quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC now owns 33,817 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $7,393,000 after buying an additional 13,538 shares during the period. 42.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Oracle news, Director Jeffrey Berg sold 49,365 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the director directly owned 151,999 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,018,756.98. This trade represents a 24.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Clayton M. Magouyrk sold 40,000 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.64, for a total value of $11,065,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 154,030 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,610,859.20. The trade was a 20.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 171,513 shares of company stock worth $50,397,893 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 40.90% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Stock Performance

Shares of Oracle stock opened at $189.64 on Friday. Oracle Corporation has a 1 year low of $118.86 and a 1 year high of $345.72. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $245.58 and its 200 day moving average is $240.83. The stock has a market cap of $540.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.65, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.28, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.62.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.64 by $0.62. The business had revenue of $16.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.19 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 25.28% and a return on equity of 70.60%. Oracle’s revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.47 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Oracle Corporation will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ORCL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. KeyCorp reduced their target price on Oracle from $350.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. UBS Group set a $325.00 price target on Oracle in a research report on Thursday. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Friday, October 17th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $342.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a report on Friday, October 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Oracle from $350.00 to $385.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $301.57.

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.