Franklin Resources Inc. Decreases Stock Position in Oracle Corporation $ORCL

Franklin Resources Inc. decreased its position in Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL) by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,246,588 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 618,440 shares during the quarter. Oracle accounts for about 0.6% of Franklin Resources Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $2,600,510,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ORCL. Swiss National Bank boosted its stake in Oracle by 7.6% during the 2nd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 5,093,200 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,113,526,000 after acquiring an additional 360,000 shares during the last quarter. Patton Fund Management Inc. grew its holdings in Oracle by 626.1% during the 3rd quarter. Patton Fund Management Inc. now owns 11,537 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $3,245,000 after acquiring an additional 9,948 shares in the last quarter. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC increased its position in shares of Oracle by 45.3% in the 2nd quarter. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC now owns 3,723 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $814,000 after purchasing an additional 1,161 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Oracle by 8.4% in the 3rd quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 40,946 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $11,516,000 after purchasing an additional 3,184 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle in the 3rd quarter valued at about $689,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Oracle news, CEO Clayton M. Magouyrk sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.23, for a total value of $1,552,300.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 134,030 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,805,476.90. This trade represents a 6.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Douglas A. Kehring sold 35,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.89, for a total transaction of $6,821,150.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 33,638 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,555,709.82. This trade represents a 50.99% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 72,223 shares of company stock valued at $13,689,064 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 40.90% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ORCL opened at $149.62 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.28. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $167.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $219.44. Oracle Corporation has a 52-week low of $118.86 and a 52-week high of $345.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $429.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.66.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.79 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.71 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $17.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.91 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 70.60% and a net margin of 25.28%.The business’s revenue was up 21.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.47 earnings per share. Oracle has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 1.960-2.000 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Oracle Corporation will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 9th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ORCL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Oracle from $350.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $313.00 price objective on Oracle in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Oppenheimer raised Oracle from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $185.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Mizuho set a $400.00 target price on Oracle in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Scotiabank lowered their price target on Oracle from $220.00 to $215.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Oracle has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $272.23.

Oracle News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Oracle this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q3 beat and AI/cloud momentum — Oracle reported $1.79 non‑GAAP EPS vs. consensus ~ $1.70 and $17.19B revenue, with cloud revenue up strongly (OCI +84% IaaS). Management said AI demand is driving multi‑year tailwinds and RPO/backlog surged. Oracle Announces Fiscal Year 2026 Third Quarter Financial Results
• Positive Sentiment: Raised guidance — Oracle lifted FY‑27 revenue outlook to $90B and issued stronger Q4 EPS guidance (1.960–2.000 vs. Street ~1.78), signaling confidence that AI cloud contracts will sustain growth. Oracle Raises 2027 Sales Outlook Amid AI Demand, Restructuring
• Positive Sentiment: Management tone — Chairman Larry Ellison publicly downplayed “SaaSpocalypse” fears and positioned Oracle as insulated from the broader software sell‑off, which can reassure investors focused on competitive resilience. Oracle’s Larry Ellison downplays software apocalypse fears: ‘We think the SaaSpocalypse applies to others, but not to us’
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst positioning — Some firms adjusted price targets and ratings ahead of/after earnings; opinions vary as models incorporate faster top‑line growth but also higher financing/capex assumptions. Price‑target and analyst coverage notes
• Negative Sentiment: Debt, capex and cash‑flow concerns — Oracle’s aggressive AI/data‑center buildout (including a recently announced ~$50B financing plan and >$100B of debt cited in coverage) has raised scrutiny about negative free cash flow and longer‑term returns on that investment. Oracle earnings will show whether its expensive AI bet is starting to pay off
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory / legal overhang — Multiple law firms have issued class‑action and fraud investigation notices tied to prior disclosures; these notices create potential litigation risk and headline volatility. ORCL Investors Have Opportunity to Join Oracle Corporation Fraud Investigation with the Schall Law Firm

Oracle Profile

Oracle Corporation is a multinational technology company that develops and sells database software, cloud engineered systems, enterprise software applications and related services. The company is widely known for its flagship Oracle Database and a portfolio of enterprise-grade software products that support data management, application development, analytics and middleware. Over recent years Oracle has expanded its focus to include cloud infrastructure and cloud applications, positioning itself as a provider of both platform and software-as-a-service solutions for large organizations.

Oracle’s product and service offerings include Oracle Database and the Autonomous Database, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI), enterprise resource planning (ERP), human capital management (HCM) and supply chain management (SCM) cloud applications (often grouped under Oracle Fusion Cloud Applications), middleware such as WebLogic, and developer technologies including Java and MySQL.