Hartline Investment Corp Expands Stake in Oracle Corporation

Hartline Investment Corp has increased its stake in Oracle Corporation (NYSE: ORCL) by 1.3% during the second quarter of 2023. According to the company’s latest Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Hartline acquired an additional 51 shares, bringing its total holdings to 3,845 shares. As of the end of the quarter, these shares were valued at approximately $841,000.

Several institutional investors have also made significant adjustments to their positions in Oracle recently. In the first quarter, Nuveen LLC established a new position worth $732.69 million. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake by 2.2%, owning a total of 160,925,413 shares valued at $22.5 billion after acquiring an additional 3,513,464 shares. Another notable move came from Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC, which purchased a new position in Oracle valued at $731.51 million in the second quarter.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. significantly expanded its position in Oracle by 79.2% in the first quarter, now holding 4,638,951 shares valued at $648.57 million. Additionally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake by an impressive 840.7% in the second quarter, owning 2,119,473 shares valued at $463.38 million. Institutional investors collectively own approximately 42.44% of Oracle’s stock.

Oracle’s Current Financial Performance

As of the latest trading session, Oracle’s stock opened at $291.95. The company’s financial ratios signal a robust position, with a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.62, and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.33. Oracle has a market capitalisation of $832.28 billion, a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 67.58, and a price-to-earnings-to-growth (P/E/G) ratio of 3.37. Over the past year, Oracle’s stock has fluctuated between a low of $118.86 and a high of $345.72.

Recently, Oracle announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50, set to be paid on October 23, 2023. Shareholders of record on October 9 will receive the dividend, marking an annualized dividend of $2.00 and a yield of 0.7%. The company’s dividend payout ratio stands at 46.30%.

Insider Trading Activity

In related news, insider Clayton M. Magouyrk sold 21,241 shares of Oracle on September 12, 2023, at an average price of $297.11, totaling approximately $6.31 million. Following this transaction, Magouyrk retains 78,000 shares valued at about $23.17 million, representing a 21.40% decrease in his ownership.

Another insider, Director William G. Parrett, sold 11,500 shares on the same day for an average price of $306.00, resulting in a transaction valued at $3.52 million. After this sale, Parrett holds 17,764 shares valued at $5.44 million, reflecting a drop of 39.30% in his stock ownership. In total, insiders have sold 120,769 shares valued at $36.43 million in the past ninety days, with corporate insiders holding 40.90% of Oracle’s stock.

Analyst Ratings and Market Outlook

Several analysts have recently updated their ratings and price targets for Oracle shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised its target price from $360.00 to $400.00, maintaining a “buy” rating. Similarly, Bank of America upgraded Oracle from a “neutral” rating to “buy,” increasing its target from $295.00 to $368.00. Cantor Fitzgerald also elevated its price target from $271.00 to $400.00, rating the company as “overweight.”

Evercore ISI increased its target from $350.00 to $385.00, asserting an “outperform” rating. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating as well. Currently, the consensus among analysts indicates three “strong buy” ratings, twenty-seven “buy” ratings, nine “hold” ratings, and two “sell” ratings. According to MarketBeat.com, the average target price for Oracle shares is $323.40, reflecting a “moderate buy” consensus.

Oracle Corporation provides a range of products and services designed for global enterprise information technology environments. Its offerings include various cloud software applications such as Oracle Fusion cloud enterprise resource planning (ERP), Oracle Cerner healthcare solutions, and the NetSuite applications suite.