Millstone Evans Group LLC Makes New Investment in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 4,517 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock, valued at approximately $753,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 87.1% during the fourth quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,048 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $508,000 after purchasing an additional 1,419 shares during the period. Lakeshore Financial Planning Inc. raised its stake in Oracle by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Lakeshore Financial Planning Inc. now owns 2,012 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $335,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the period. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at $325,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Oracle by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. now owns 44,942 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $7,489,000 after buying an additional 573 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Oracle by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,393 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $232,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 42.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on ORCL. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Oracle from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Oracle from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Oracle from $205.00 to $175.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Oracle from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $220.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $179.20.

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Oracle Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of Oracle stock traded down $1.28 on Tuesday, reaching $153.59. The company had a trading volume of 8,514,230 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,509,694. Oracle Co. has a 52-week low of $112.78 and a 52-week high of $198.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $164.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $170.36. The firm has a market cap of $429.58 billion, a PE ratio of 37.55, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.02). Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The company had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.40 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.41 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This is an increase from Oracle's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle's payout ratio is currently 46.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

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.