Millstone Evans Group LLC Buys Shares of 4,517 Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 4,517 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock, valued at approximately $753,000.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Howard Capital Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 12.4% during the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 8,019 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,366,000 after acquiring an additional 883 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Oracle by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,416,362 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $411,748,000 after purchasing an additional 121,874 shares during the last quarter. United Bank boosted its stake in Oracle by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 11,430 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,948,000 after purchasing an additional 519 shares during the period. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Oracle in the 3rd quarter worth about $70,000. Finally, Moran Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,882,000. Institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.35, for a total transaction of $389,448,893.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,331,027.20. This trade represents a 65.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Oracle Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of ORCL opened at $152.83 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. Oracle Co. has a 1-year low of $112.78 and a 1-year high of $198.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $427.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.37, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $164.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $169.85.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.02). Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The firm had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.41 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This is a boost from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ORCL. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Oracle from $205.00 to $175.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Oracle has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $179.20.

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.