Cheviot Value Management LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL)

Cheviot Value Management LLC grew its stake in Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL) by 65.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,715 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,469 shares during the quarter. Cheviot Value Management LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $555,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Oracle during the first quarter worth about $27,000. Inlight Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Oracle during the first quarter worth about $28,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Oracle by 284.9% during the first quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 204 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 151 shares during the period. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Oracle during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new position in Oracle during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on ORCL. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Scotiabank began coverage on Oracle in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $300.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Oracle from $135.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. Citigroup upgraded Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Loop Capital set a $135.00 price target on Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Oracle currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $218.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Oracle news, EVP Maria Smith sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.99, for a total transaction of $2,329,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 40,807 shares in the company, valued at $9,507,622.93. This represents a 19.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Rona Alison Fairhead acquired 480 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $233.87 per share, with a total value of $112,257.60. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 22,110 shares in the company, valued at $5,170,865.70. This represents a 2.22% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 431,169 shares of company stock worth $82,908,609 over the last 90 days. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Oracle Price Performance

ORCL stock opened at $244.44 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.07, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.75. Oracle Corporation has a 1 year low of $118.86 and a 1 year high of $260.87. The firm has a market cap of $686.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 1.43. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $213.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $174.85.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.64 by $0.06. Oracle had a return on equity of 87.34% and a net margin of 21.68%. The business had revenue of $15.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.63 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Oracle Corporation will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.08%.

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.